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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • FEBRUARY 2017


Chilliwack farm sales surged in fall 2016 Province is now tracking property sales in response to concerns about foreign ownership


by PETER MITHAM CHILLIWACK –


Chilliwack led the province in farm property sales last fall, according to real estate sales data the province has been collecting since last summer.


A total of 32 sales occurred in Chilliwack in the six months ended November 30, according to a breakdown of property sales by municipality the BC


Ministry of Finance has published as part of the province’s open government initiative.


A total of 94 sales occurred in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, or about a fifth of the 455 farm property sales province-wide during the period. “Folks are still looking for good deals on land,” says Gord Houweling, a broker with BC Farm and Ranch Realty Corp. in Abbotsford, who added the market remains strong as 2017 begins. Producers in the supply-managed sectors have been very active for a number of reasons, he added. Some are seeking extra space in response to


BC Farm Property Sales, June-November 2016


tax on farmland, but it cut the flow of cash to homeowners looking to cash out in Vancouver and move to rural areas. With no foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver, homeowners in the region had fewer, and often less aggressive buyers making offers on their properties.


animal welfare considerations; others opted to sell in advance of new federal policies regarding capital gains. Quota now receives the same capital gains treatment as other capital assets, such as buildings and equipment. The changes took effect January 1.


Producers planning to sell may have advanced the sale process to avoid the new rules, Houweling says. “This probably sped things up a little bit because of the tax hit that was coming,” he says. “You might have seen an uptick in Chilliwack because of that.”


Houweling has also seen brisk


activity for smaller parcels five to 10 acres in size, but not necessarily for farm purposes.


Sales of these properties slowed somewhat after August 2, when the province began charging foreign nationals an additional 15% property transfer tax on residential property purchases within Metro Vancouver. The tax applied not only to urban dwellings and rental properties, but to that portion of farm properties designated for residential use. In the case of a farmhouse, the dwelling and up to 1.25 acres around the residence is subject to the tax.


This limited the direct impact of the


Ottawa’s requirement that applicants for insured mortgages meet a stress test to ensure they’re able to make payments in the event of a hike in interest


rates has also dampened activity, Houweling says.


With most large farms incorporated, however, there’s been no impact at the upper end of the market. BC finance ministry staff began tracking property sales in the province in June 2016 to address public concerns regarding the role of foreign buyers in the province.


Speaking to the BC Agrifood and Seafood Conference in November, BC agriculture minister Norm Letnick said that foreign buyers accounted for just four out of 205 sales ministry staff examined.


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