The new head of the Canadian Home Builders Association is a pretty upbeat guy.
Until you bring up the Speculation Tax.
Les Bellamy, takes over the helm of the organization as the reigning CHBA's Builder of the Year. The ten year veteran of the home construction business sat down with KelownaNow to talk about the home building business and the much maligned tax.
Bellamy said if the goal of the tax is to increase the availability of housing, it's actually had the opposite effect.
"In the Central Okanagan already we've had over $400 million in contracts cancelled," said Bellamy. "500 to 600 homes have been cancelled with just the announcement of the Speculation Tax."
Proponents of the tax argue it will affect very few British Columbians and will free up the supply of housing in areas where the rental market is tight.
If you get value from KelownaNow and believe local independent media is important to our community we ask that you please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter.
If you appreciate what we do, we ask that you consider supporting our local independent news platform.
