Real Estate

Ottawa and Surrounding Area Real Estate market discussion

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Banned
May 12, 2004
9756 posts
4136 upvotes
Ottawa
S5 wrote: Huh? To this day we still do not have HST, each tax is separate.

Wow. The government is doing a really good job of pulling the wool over your collective eyes. Politicians take note; all it takes is to choose your wording and it'll go over the head of the masses...

How much TOTAL sales tax are you paying in Quebec? Once you figure that out the 'harmonization' may come to light.
Sr. Member
Dec 6, 2006
674 posts
33 upvotes
Cas77 wrote: How much TOTAL sales tax are you paying in Quebec? Once you figure that out the 'harmonization' may come to light.

13.5% nominal on items where both taxes apply.

I believe S5's point was that the taxes were not harmonized. Meaning that where only one tax applies, you do not need to pay both as opposed to HST where you always pay the entire thing.

If harmonized taxes did not make any difference over separate taxes, why do you think BC make such a fuss over the harmonization?

A: Because it matters...

Anyway let's get this thread back on topic.
Banned
May 12, 2004
9756 posts
4136 upvotes
Ottawa
guigz wrote: 13.5% effective on items where both taxes apply.

You mean 13.5 nominal and 13.925 effective soon to be 14.975 eff. People seem to forget the the tax is taxed since they put it on 2 seperate lines.

Agree let's get back on topic.
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4460 posts
4122 upvotes
S5 wrote: Huh? To this day we still do not have HST, each tax is separate.

This is an article written about the HST Compensation received by Quebec. So if Quebec does not have HST, what is the $2 billion for?
This week, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said his June 6 budget would include “provisions” to retroactively compensate Quebec for harmonizing its provincial sales tax with the GST in the early 1990s
Deal Addict
Oct 4, 2009
3590 posts
2953 upvotes
Montreal
William W wrote: This is an article written about the HST Compensation received by Quebec. So if Quebec does not have HST, what is the $2 billion for?

Did you read the article? It spells it out pretty clearly. We don't have HST although not sure the name makes a whole lot of difference.
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4460 posts
4122 upvotes
S5 wrote: Did you read the article? It spells it out pretty clearly. We don't have HST although not sure the name makes a whole lot of difference.

The H in HST stands for Harmonize. So if Quebec does not have HST, can you ask your Premiere and the province of Quebec to return the $2.2 billion to the rest of Canada?
Deal Addict
Jan 13, 2006
2134 posts
169 upvotes
guigz wrote: 13.5% nominal on items where both taxes apply.

I believe S5's point was that the taxes were not harmonized. Meaning that where only one tax applies, you do not need to pay both as opposed to HST where you always pay the entire thing.

If harmonized taxes did not make any difference over separate taxes, why do you think BC make such a fuss over the harmonization?

A: Because it matters...

Anyway let's get this thread back on topic.

Part of it from what I've heard is misunderstading the benefits of HST for some individuals or businesses.
Deal Addict
Oct 4, 2009
3590 posts
2953 upvotes
Montreal
William W wrote: The H in HST stands for Harmonize. So if Quebec does not have HST, can you ask your Premiere and the province of Quebec to return the $2.2 billion to the rest of Canada?

Wow, threadcrapping in your own thread. Congratulations. I love it when people try to pick a fight for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4460 posts
4122 upvotes
S5 wrote: Wow, threadcrapping in your own thread. Congratulations. I love it when people try to pick a fight for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

Not necessary trying to pick a fight, just trying to point to facts, and smoke out incorrect information that was presented. ;)
Sr. Member
Dec 6, 2006
674 posts
33 upvotes
William W wrote: This is an article written about the HST Compensation received by Quebec. So if Quebec does not have HST, what is the $2 billion for?

Did you even read the article?

It clearly states that Quebec has no HST.

This is why there was such an uproar about the 2.2$ Billion. This was the point of the article.... :facepalm:

"“It’s not a fully harmonized sales tax therefore it should not receive compensation,” said Derek Fildebrandt of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation."

To prove your point that Quebec has HST, you quote an article where the main point is that Quebec has no HST?

Bravo!
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4460 posts
4122 upvotes
guigz wrote: Did you even read the article?
Ok.... I will admit, I only quickly skimmed over the article, and it may not have been the best article for me to use to illustrate my point. My bad. This would have been a better article.

With the transfer of the $2.2 billion, officially, both the Federal Government and the Quebec Government recongnized that there is a HST in the province of Quebec.
Deal Addict
Oct 4, 2009
3590 posts
2953 upvotes
Montreal
William W wrote: Not necessary trying to pick a fight, just trying to point to facts, and smoke out incorrect information that was presented. ;)

What incorrect information? My only statement in this thread was to say QC has not harmonized its sales taxes. You linked an article that confirms my statement and then attempted to engage in a political off topic argument that has nothing to do with me or anything I posted.

BTW you're missing a syllable in the 2nd word of your reply.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jun 28, 2003
12181 posts
5650 upvotes
Ottawa
Guys, just to bring the thread back on track and to provide updates on some of my previous posts.

My colleague still has not been able to sell his house after 3 months on the market. He has already dropped the price 3 times, for a combined $40K off the original listing price. He has moved into his new place and is carrying 2 mortgages. I don't know how long he can handle that and he's looking at various options, including going with the realtors who *guarantee* to sell your house or they would buy it after a period of time.

I don't know how that works but one thing for sure is you will have to pay a premium for that, either through commissions or perhaps through a rather big price reduction. Nobody is giving anybody free money in this cut-throat business. I suggest he can find some tenants in the meantime but you run the risk of people trashing your place or worse having a grow-op in the basement :( . He did get a couple of *conditional* offers but on the advice of his realtor, he refused them as they can be *get-out-of-jail-free-cards* and can turn away other more serious offers.

My boss has finally sold her house in Stonebridge. She sold it for 94% of the original asking price so that's pretty good as she bought the house a few years ago and it has appreciated quite a bit since.

We will list our current house for sale ourselves in the New Year. I will make sure to price it very competitively as the closing date for our new house is early summer. I am sure I won't remember $5K or $10K difference when push comes to shove. I hope the interest rates continue to stay low to entice buyers. I have only been a homeowner for 5 years so I don't have a lot of experience yet but I have not seen a real estate market this slow like right now. Obviously, any house will sell for the right price but it's always easier said than done.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jun 28, 2003
12181 posts
5650 upvotes
Ottawa
Just a quick update here folks, my colleague finally sold his house this past week, after realtors' commissions and fees, he got about 85% of the original asking price. Goes to show you the old adage always rings true: *A house will always sell, for the right price*, or something along that line.

Another colleague also has his house for sale on Grapevine, the closing date for his new place is February so it's getting close. He already dropped the price once and in hindsight he told me he should have priced his house at that number from the get-go as he wasted a valuable couple of months in the summer.

Live and learn i guess. I am taking it all in stride as we are getting ready to list our house as well. Cheers.
Newbie
May 5, 2009
8 posts
You know, I live it Ottawa (New Edinburgh) and I find that anything priced under 1 million in my neighbourhood...especially if it is a detached/semi seems to move within 2-3 weeks if it isn't stupidly priced. In talking to someone in real estate, I've heard that the following seem to sell very quickly in Ottawa (sometimes in under a week):

* Any detached house outside the greenbelt < 500K
* Any detached/semi in Glebe/New Ed/Westboro < 750K
* Any townhouse < 250K anywhere
* Any detached in Rockcliffe/Rothwell < 1M

Everything else...it's a tough call. The thing that's strange about this market is that there's hardly any listings...certainly, very few houses went up for sale in my area this year. It's really strange...
Deal Addict
User avatar
Nov 3, 2002
1321 posts
68 upvotes
Ottawa
lol, has anyone seen this site? Is anyone willing to spend the $10 and share the insights contained within?
Banned
User avatar
Feb 15, 2008
26318 posts
3242 upvotes
Calgary
Fox2k wrote: lol, has anyone seen this site? Is anyone willing to spend the $10 and share the insights contained within?

LOL at the "housing time to recovery" clock....
TodayHello wrote: ...The Banks are smarter than you - they have floors full of people whose job it is to read Mark77 posts...
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jun 28, 2003
12181 posts
5650 upvotes
Ottawa
One hell of a slow market. I went to an open house to gather some intel for a friend who also lists on the same street and ended up getting a couple of phone calls from the homeowner.

He sounds like a beaten man, almost begging me to put in an offer. His place is very nice but he priced it too high and possibly drove people away.

Well all I can hope is for the interest rates to continue staying low to entice buyers. I guess many people are spooked now with the Fed and the budget cuts that may possibly impact jobs. We will see if it picks up after the holidays.
Member
May 16, 2011
203 posts
18 upvotes
These are signs of the market slowing for sure....But I dont think its a desperate market yet... 85 or 94% of asking price is still not that bad... I would love to see (for my own selfish purposes) a much bigger slump in prices....
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jun 28, 2003
12181 posts
5650 upvotes
Ottawa
^ You may see interest rates going up though if there is a big slump in prices. That's the catch-22

DND is about to implement some *workforce adjustment programs*. Interesting times for public servants in this town. Gotta ride this government for another 4 years...

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/d ... story.html

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