Special offer

To Sell or Not To Sell? That is the Question.

By
Real Estate Agent with Re/Max Twin City Realty Inc, Kitchener-Waterloo ON

By Warren McNeil,

Many people are asking me if now is a good time to sell their house. I think the reason why they're asking this question is because of the HST. I'm not talking about the hubble space telescope, I'm talking about the new Harmonized Sales Tax that the Ontario government is implementing July 1st. The HST is going to cost sellers more money to sell their houses. There is going to be an additional 8% on top of commissions and other service fees associated with the sale of a house.

Yesterday Tim Hudak was in Kitchener-Waterloo and sat down for a roundtable discussion with members of kitchener waterloo real estate boardthe Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate board.

" Hudak asked roundtable participants to share their thoughts on the upcoming implementation of Dalton McGuinty's $3 billion HST tax grab. According to the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), the HST will add $1,500 to the cost of a real estate transaction, hurting the resale-home market and prolonging the housing industry's recovery from the recession. "

So back to the original question, to sell or not to sell? In my opinion, it is still a good time to sell in Kitchener-Waterloo. Just last night I was watching the news and they were saying the 2010 is going to be another record breaking year for Kitchener-Waterloo real estate sales. In our own experience, there are still many buyers out there and we are seeing houses selling quickly in very desirable areas.

 Unfortunately we can't control what taxes we have to pay. That is up to the government. I don't think that now was a good time to implement a tax like this but I am not the person running the country. Is any time a good time to implement a new tax!!!!  :)

Thanks for reading!

 

Comments (3)

Dan Benefield
Benefield Realty - Decatur, GA

Interesting post guys. I hope we don't encounter that type of tax in the U.S., but I fear our politicians are cooking up anything they can to further rape the taxpayer.

 

Jun 18, 2010 03:11 AM
Janice Ankrett
Burlington, ON
Staging Professional

One can only hope that the HST does not impact the market too much. In the long run we will all become numb to it as we did the GST when it came along.

Jun 18, 2010 07:17 AM
Warren & Melanie McNeil
Re/Max Twin City Realty Inc, Kitchener-Waterloo ON - Kitchener, ON
Team McNeil

Janice: I agree and think we will become numb to the new tax as well.

Dan:  I hope you don't encounter a tax like the HST either.

Jun 18, 2010 03:50 PM