[URBAN NOTE] "B.C.’s free loans to homebuyers won’t buy much in Vancouver"

[rfmcdonald]

MacLean's' Jason Kirby describes how a BC government program involving free loans to homebuyers will not help people shopping in Vancouver, with examples.

Attention, all young residents of Vancouver feeling shut out of the local housing market in this, the lead-up to May’s provincial election: Premier Christy Clark is here to help with free money!

Well, sort of. On Thursday, the government unveiled details of its new B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership, which will see the province provide interest-free 25-year loans of up to $37,500—or five per cent of the purchase price of a home—with no requirement to start paying back the money for five years. Not everyone qualifies for this homebuyer subsidy, mind you—only people struggling to get by on household incomes of less than $150,000 a year can use it. And don’t go thinking you can buy a mansion, either: the maximum purchase price under Clark’s plan is $750,000.

Which, if you’re looking for a house and not a condo near downtown, leaves you with limited options.

How limited? Well, according to Realtor.ca, there are only four houses available for under $750,000. They don’t come with land. And you’ll have to build two of them.