Ottawa 2010

I am in Ottawa with my fellow members of the Canadian Real Estate Association, where we are meeting with our MPs. We are talking with MPs regarding indexing the Home Buyers Plan. This means increasing the amount of RRSP money that home buyers can use to purchase a home. Until last year, the amount was $20,000 and that had been the same since day one of the program. Last year we got it raised to $25,000.

Also, we are looking at rolling over the capital gains tax. This means that when a small time investor sells a rental property, if they reinvest within one year, they will not be subject to this tax. Today many people are holding on to old rundown properties because of this capital gains tax. This change can help make our communities more appealing as larger investors can come in and renovate, making these properties look better as well as the jobs that will come as these properties are fixed up.