British Columbia's NDP government will introduce tax measures designed to push down the price of housing by targeting vacant homes owned by out-of-province investors.

Finance Minister Carole James said she hopes this and other changes will cool real estate costs, but would not predict how much, or what will happen if they take a bigger bite out of housing values than intended.

"We are treading on new ground," she told reporters on Tuesday as she unveiled her first full budget.

"We will be doing the analysis as we implement them."

The $54-billion balanced budget also promises historic investments in child care to create new spaces and train more caregivers, while giving tens of thousands of families access to two new programs to subsidize

Stuck between a rock and your mom’s basement

Multiple generations living under one roof isn't a new concept, but it is on the rise in North America, especially with millennials. This housing shift comes as a result of many factors, including work challenges and the rising cost of rent in most parts of the country. In fact, millennials are starting their adult lives after the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. This change has been the subject of much speculation and comparison to earlier generations, so personal finance expert Rubina Ahmed-Haq stopped by to help shine some light on why Generation Y is staying put for now.

Gen Y – commonly referred to as millennials – are people born approximately between the 1980s and the mid-1990s. Increasingly

Latest government numbers show B.C. HOME Partnership program was missing targets

For the current provincial government, it was never HOME sweet HOME.

The province announced today that it will cancel HOME — formally the B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership program — a government loan program that aimed to help first-time home buyers get into the B.C. housing market. HOME provides loans of up to $37,500 or five per cent of the home's purchase price (up to a maximum of $750,000) to first-time home buyers for a down payment.  .

In announcing the cancellation, the government said the program had failed to meet expectations. When it was announced in late 2016, it was expected that 42,000 British Columbians would use the program over three

Canada’s federal housing agency says new mortgage rules intended to cool hot markets are “working better than hoped.” However, housing markets remain out of balance with recent price spikes driven by large single family homes at the expense of much needed rental stock, Evan Siddall, CEO of Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp.

“I think the evidence shows that worked out a little better than we hoped,” said Siddall. “People either bought smaller houses or found another way to find a down payment and that’s okay. We were worried about the strong housing market taking money out of the productive economy – out of business investment, and I think mission accomplished.”

Siddall acknowledged the new guidelines, known as B20, are keeping many young people out

Many consumers will soon find their debt loads heavier now that Canada’s central bank and the country’s biggest commercial lenders have raised their benchmark rates by one-quarter percentage point.

Personal finance expert Laleh Samarbakhsh shares her advice on the best ways to take advantage of the increased rates.

The country’s biggest banks raised their prime rates after the Bank of Canada hiked its overnight lending rate earlier this month by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25 per cent.

It’s a challenge for Canadians still struggling to cope with the record amounts of consumer debt they amassed after the 2008 financial crisis because lenders use their prime rate as a benchmark for setting some other short-term rates including

As the real estate landscape changes, renting to own may provide a win-win for both owners and tenants.

The changes to the mortgage rules last July are making it more difficult for first time buyers to get approved for a mortgage. Other buyers may have good credit but not enough of a down payment. At the same time, landlords are looking for good tenants to rent their units. Rent-to-own may provide a win-win for both owners and tenants.

Here’s how it works:

A landlord rents the home or condominium under a basic home lease. For an extra payment, the tenant receives an option to buy the home at a later date, for a set price. Let’s say the home is worth $250,000. The parties agree the tenant will have the right, but not the obligation, to buy the

Are you looking to buy your first home? Are you short on the down payment needed to qualify for a mortgage? That money you’ve been locking away into your RRSP could make the difference. The Canadian government offers borrowers The Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP), which lets you borrow funds from an RRSP to make a down payment for your first home purchase.

How does it work?

• The home has to be your principal residence.
• You can borrow as much as $25,000 from your RRSP to go toward a home purchase.
• You have to live in Canada.
• If you buy with another first time buyer you can both add to make $50,000
• You can’t take contributions to an RRSP out unless those contributions have been in your account for a minimum of 90 days.
• You pay no interest

What Are the Three New Mortgage Rules That Arrived In January 2018?

New rules by Canada’s federal financial regulator announced in October 2017 mean that even borrowers with a down payment of 20 per cent or more will now face a stress test, as has been the case since January of 2017, for applicants with smaller down payments who require mortgage insurance.

Ottawa has already moved to tighten the rules around the mortgage market six times since July 2008, with a series of regulatory tweaks aimed at limiting the amount of debt that Canadians and financial institutions take on.

This is the seventh turn of the screw — and it could have a big impact. Some 10 per cent of Canadians who got an uninsured mortgage between mid-2016 and mid-2017 would not

Prospective homeowners may get excited by the market or the prospect of home ownership and decide that now is the right time to look into buying a home...but sometimes they get the cart before the horse and start house shopping before the have been pre-approved for a mortgage. The pre-approval process is a way for buyers to get insight on potential obstacles and learn more about what mortgage lenders want from applicants. Preparing for a mortgage loan in advance will help avoid surprises and speed a buyer's final mortgage approval when the right house is found. You'll also be taken more seriously.

Knowing Where you Stand

Before running out to look at houses, prospective buyers need to know any potential hurdles they may need to overcome when it

Guidelines requiring financial test for uninsured buyers go into effect Jan 1, 2018

New guidelines that will soon place restrictions on uninsured borrowers looking to secure a mortgage have — as one Ottawa realtor puts it — kicked the pursuit of a home into "overdrive."

Earlier this month, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released guidelines for the mortgage industry that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2018.One of the major new rules is a requirement to subject uninsured borrowers to a "stress test." At the moment, anyone who puts down more than 20 per cent of the value of a home doesn't have to pay for mortgage insurance, and is considered an uninsured borrower.Only insured borrowers — those who put down less than