Ontario to make ‘small change’ to help out first-time buyers
Wynne tamps down expectations on home-ownership measures
Premier Kathleen Wynne admits an upcoming break for first-time homebuyers may have limited curb appeal. Wynne moved to tamp down expectations of measures — to be unveiled in Monday’s fall economic statement — that are designed to making home ownership more affordable.
“What we’ll be announcing . . . is a small change that will help first-time homebuyers,” the premier said Thursday at a school in Leaside.
“So . . . I don’t think that anyone should expect a radical shift in the way that the housing market works in Ontario,” she said, declining to reveal any details.
“But our concern has been that there is a real challenge for first-time homebuyers to get into the market, and so we can make some small adjustments that will help on that.”
There were a record 9,768 properties sold in the Greater Toronto Area last month — up 11.5 per cent year-over-year — while prices jumped 21 per cent in the same period to an average of $762,975.
Tim Hudak, CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association, has been calling for land-transfer tax breaks to help those new to the market.
“I don’t think that anyone should expect a radical shift in the way that the housing market works in Ontario.” PREMIER KATHLEEN WYNNE
“Let’s forgive that for first-time homebuyers — help them get out of their parents’ house or get out of their apartment — to get a place of their own,” said Hudak, the former Progressive Conservative leader.
“That would be a substantial benefit to families across the province,” he said.
Wynne’s Liberals have already ruled out an Ontario version of British Columbia’s controversial 15-percent tax on foreign buyers.
Toronto Mayor John Tory praised them for not imposing such a levy.
“I commend this premier and the government for the fact they are taking a responsible position,” said Tory.
“There are a lot of people who have been pushing both of us to come over and say . . . we should have the same taxes as they have in B.C. just because they have it there,” the mayor said.
“The fact is it’s a different place and a different market,” he said, noting that if first-time homebuyers can move into the market more easily, that will free up rental accommodation to help ease Toronto’s housing crunch.
Finance Minister Charles Sousa will announce the changes in Monday afternoon’s mini-budget at Queen’s Park.