Kathleen Wynne Says a Small Change is Coming Soon to Help Ontario Home Buyers

If Canada’s new mortgage rules and Toronto’s housing prices have you down, there is a bit of good news for you.

A bit.

Yesterday, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said her government’s plan to help first-time home buyers would involve a “small change.”

By “small change” she means we won’t see a radical shift in the workings of the Ontario housing market anytime soon (don’t shoot the messenger).

kathleen wynne

But at a time when owning a detached home in Toronto is a pipedream to many, any change that helps prospective homebuyers is a welcome one, no matter how small.

At any rate, while we likely won’t see a major action to tackle the soaring housing costs (I feel the need to reinforce that for the overly optimistic set), in Monday’s fall economic statement, the Liberal government will announce a new strategy.

And that’s a good thing.

We can all agree that something needs to be done about the province’s anxiety-inducing real estate prices – particularly in Toronto.

kathleen wynne

According to the Canadian Press, there were a record 9,768 properties sold in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) last month — a figure that’s up 11.5 per cent year-over-year — while prices climbed 21 per cent in the same period to an average of $762,975.

Naturally, that means home ownership is a far-away reality for most of us.

Thankfully, Wynne recognizes this, saying that first-time home buyers face a major challenge when it comes to saving a big enough down payment to get into the market.

Apparently, her “small adjustments” are designed to help us all out (SOS).

Wynne says that Ontario doesn’t have all the necessary data required to impose changes on a larger scale.

kathleen wynne

She also reinforced that Ontario will not follow in the footsteps of B.C. to impose a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers in Vancouver.

As we’ve told you, home sales in Vancouver have plunged since this tax was implemented in August, dropping to almost 39 per cent last month compared to October of last year.

Meanwhile, in Ontario, the Ontario Real Estate Association has asked the government to exempt first-time buyers from the land transfer tax to help them get into the market.

We’ll have to wait and see come Monday.

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