New Real Estate Fees for 2015
Tuesday, March 31st, 2015
New Real Estate Fees for 2015 As reported by the Calgary Herald, last week’s provincial budget included some pretty hefty hikes to land title and mortgage registration fees, which are paid by the buyer at the time of a transaction’s closing. These fees are calculated, in part, as a percentage of a home’s selling price, and have remained stable since 2011.
After July 1, 2015, buyers will pay 0.12 percent of their new home’s purchase price in mortgage and land title registration fees, up from 0.02 percent, in addition to a flat fee of $75 (increased from $50). What that means to the average homebuyer is that instead of paying $290 (based on a $500,000 home with a 20 percent down payment), they’ll now be forking over $1,230.
User and registration fees went up virtually across the board in this latest budget, and so it’s not a huge surprise that these particular ones did too. Alberta’s land transfer and mortgage registration fees were among the lowest in the country, not to mention our being blessed with no land transfer taxes, and so its unlikely this will have any effect on Calgary’s real estate market other than inspiring some grumbles as buyers write cheques for closing costs. When Ralph Klein slashed these fees from 0.1 percent to 0.02 percent, interest rates were higher and the market slower than we currently enjoy; in our present economic climate, this increase is a fairly obvious move.
It is always important to consider closing costs when determining how much house you can afford. Remember, while the mortgage will likely be paid off over 25-plus years, closing costs are due right away and add up to several thousand dollars. Curious about what closing costs you may be looking at when you purchase? Check out our Buyer’s Guide, then contact me!
