A year-old Toronto tax could be helping York Region’s real estate market, while hindering theirs.
An analysis of the GTA resale market by the CD Howe Institute concludes Toronto’s unique land transfer tax has negatively affected its market and placed an unfair burden on homebuyers.
“The results were actually a bit more than we expected,” analyst Benjamin Dachis said.
They concluded Toronto sales are off 16 per cent from where they should be and house values south of Steeles are down 1.5 per cent.
With the market in a gradual dive, isolating the effects of the tax was a challenge for Mr. Dachis and fellow authors, University of Toronto economics professors Gilles Duranton and Matthew Turner.
