Image Credit: CFJC Today / File

By Canadian Press

Real Estate

BCREA criticizes cooling-off period for housing

Feb 28, 2022 | 7:18 AM

VANCOUVER – The British Columbia Real Estate Association says a cooling-off period the province is looking to introduce this spring will not alleviate the market’s heated conditions.

The proposed legislation will let homebuyers back out of deal for a property with no or diminished legal consequences, but the association says it won’t stand the test of changing market conditions and doesn’t equally serve buyers and sellers.

The association warns the policy is “ineffectual at best” and will also do nothing to address a lack of supply, which it considers to be the root of B.C.’s housing affordability problems.

Instead, the association recommends introducing a mandatory “pre-offer period” that will block offers from being made at least five business days after a property is first listed.

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It also wants the province to establish a process that balances offer transparency for buyers with privacy concerns, so people can make more informed decisions, when they are caught in multiple offer scenarios.

Earlier this month, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver revealed January home sales slowed from a record-setting pace last year, but the benchmark price reached about $1.2 million, up 18.5 per cent from last January.