On August 5, 2016, The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) made its 2017 pre-budget submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee of Finance's consultation process.
The highlights of the submission include three recommendations:
- Modernize and extend eligibility for the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) to Canadians who, relocate to secure employment, accommodate an elderly family member in the family home, become widowed, or suffer marital breakdown.
- Make homeownership affordable by indexing to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the withdrawal limit of the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) in $2,500 increment, a limit that has not increased with inflation since 2009.
- Create more housing stock by allowing sellers of investment real estate to defer the recapture of previously claimed depreciation (Capital Cost Allowance [CCA]) on investment property when the proceeds are reinvested in another investment property.
To view CREA's full submission, click here.