Local officials and Albertans upset over B.C.’s new empty home tax

The wine versus pipeline dispute has been put to rest for now but some Alberta resident's relationship with the B.C. government remains bitter.

Well.. lets just say I'm feeling pretty let down by this confederation and being the punching bag for this country... Not to mention the recent 2% tax BC just put on Alberta home owners... going to destroy your economy over there and bankrupt Albertan's over here.. disgusting

— Brockus (@BrockWarkentin) February 27, 2018

Hey rachel. Im sure you heard the latest on albertans with vacation homes in bc, taxes increased, are you standing up for albertans?

— leonard goulet (@leonardrgoulet) February 23, 2018

Foreign buyer tax hits Alberta vacation home owners hard....hmmmm

— Nigel Protter (@NigelProtter) February 24, 2018

Last week’s B.C. Budget introduced a new 2% speculation tax that will directly impact homes that sit vacant in only a few municipalities across B.C., including Kelowna and West Kelowna.

The tax does not sit well with those who own vacation and future retirement homes in the two Okanagan cities.

Local officials have also expressed concern, both Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran and West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater agree the tax has the potential to negatively affect the local housing market.

"We believe the tax is a negative, for one it directly impacts only two municipalities when the entire Okanagan is a popular place for vacation and retirement homes,” said West Kelowna's Mayor Findlater .

"Many people from Alberta who anticipate moving here for retirement buy a home in advance and now they may be looking to buy that dream home somewhere just to the south or just to the north of West Kelowna or Kelowna.”

According to Findlater, city staff and industry professionals will be preparing a report to take in front of council on Mar. 13, with the goal of approaching the province soon after.

However, real estate professionals are urging caution saying the impact of the tax is far from certain.

"It's not black and white, there is a lot of grey area, so we are telling people that currently own property to not jump to conclusions," said Realtor Darcy Nyrose.

"We've heard a lot of people say they are done with B.C., put my home up for sale. Well, that's also a bad thing because making decisions to buy or sell without understanding exactly what is going on can create a separate issue with increased inventory that's in a similar category."

Some argue a speculation tax that specifically targets homes in Kelowna and West Kelowna misses the mark of making housing more affordable in the province.

@udibc President/CEO says hitting Alberta home buyers in the Okanagan with a new tax does nothing to address affordability in the Lower Mainland on @cbcnewsbc #bcpoli #vanpoli https://t.co/nKRJoP2SWJ

— UDI Pacific Region (@udibc) February 23, 2018

According to the Okanagan Real Estate Board, Albertans made up 10.2% of buyers last year in that region, which includes Kelowna and West Kelowna.