Toronto November 2023 Curated News

“Ontario Builders Gives Bonus In Gold Bars To Home Buyers”

Real estate developers in Ontario have taken on a new level of desperation amid a shaky market fueled by sky-high lending rates; they will literally give you bars of gold just to buy a home.

A new subdivision of single-family detached homes in Woodstock, known as River & Sky, is gearing up to launch — and the project is attempting to lure in buyers with a promotion offering 500-gram gold bars worth a staggering $45,000 a pop to anyone who buys one of these homes.

An email sent out by Royale Realty Point Brokerage — an agency not associated with the project’s developers, Fernbrook and Crystal Homes — advertises an upcoming one-day event where they claim the builder is offering purchasers in the subdivision a hefty chunk of gold.

The upcoming sales event on November 18 at the Woodstock Sales Galleria celebrates Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, where gold plays an important cultural role.

Gifts of gold are a tradition on the first day of the five-day festival, known as Dhanteras, based on Hindu mythology, where King Hima’s son was spared from a fatal snake bite through a distraction in the form of the sought-after precious metal.

For this reason, gifting gold bars and coins is an established Diwali tradition, though maybe not necessarily $45k worth of the stuff.

“There are some builders who are giving anywhere from the typical four per cent [gift] that you would get in a pre-construction all the way to 10 per cent… It’s there to attract clients to purchase.”

The agent says that the industry is navigating a particularly tough market right now, and that Fernbrook and Crystal Homes are not the only builders resorting to such tactics to win over buyers.

“Canadian Homeowners And Six Tax Incentives To Help Save”

As part of Financial Literacy Month, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has shared some great tax incentives Canadian homeowners should know about.

“We know people are looking for housing options for aging parents or for a family member with a disability. You might be a senior who needs to make some modifications to your home to enhance your mobility,” reads a release.

“Or are you curious about multigenerational housing where more than one generation live under the same roof? Whatever the case, the cost of making modifications to your home is likely a factor.”

Here are six tax credits and benefits you should take advantage of if you own a home, according to the CRA and other financial institutions.

Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit (MHRTC)

The MHRTC could provide a valuable refundable credit for eligible expenses related to qualifying renovations to create a self-contained secondary unit for someone to reside with their family.

For example, if you want to build a self-contained basement unit for your parents to live in your home, this tax credit could help you.

You could claim up to $50,000 in expenditures for each qualifying renovation that is completed. The tax credit is 15 per cent of your costs, up to a maximum of $7,500, for each eligible claim.

Home Accessibility Tax Credit (HATC)

The HATC non-refundable tax credit is for eligible home renovation or alteration expenses, with an annual expense limit of $20,000.

First-time home buyers’ tax credit (HBTC)

If you bought your first home last year, you might qualify for the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit (HBTC) of $10,000, which adds $1,500 to your tax refund. You can make sure you’re eligible for the tax incentive here.

Home buyers’ tax credit for people with disabilities

If you, your spouse or common-law partner is a person with disabilities, you might be able to take advantage of the HBTC, even if you aren’t a first-time home buyer. You can check if you qualify here.

Tax deductions from moving for work

If you got a new job last year and had to move at least 40 km closer to your new workplace, you can deduct all your moving costs.

Yes, that means you can claim the costs of flights, movers, selling real estate, getting out of a lease or mortgage, and temporary housing — which can add up to a lot.

Self-employment or work-from-home tax credits

If you have your own business and you work from home, you can claim business-use-of-home expenses. You can also claim car travel expenses — just make sure you keep this info on record.

If you’re not self-employed, but you work from home for your job, you can still claim those expenses. Last year, eligible employees got up to $500 back if they worked from home for a maximum of 250 days.

“Futuristic Tower To Rise High Above Toronto’s Oldest Bar”

Blocks surrounding the King-Bathurst Ontario Line Subway Station are primed for some impressive transformative change in the coming years, including a bold  proposal that would add a futuristic-looking 19-storey tower to the area.

A proposal to redevelop an existing commercial building at 675 King Street West was first tabled in fall 2022, and appears to have evolved in the year since with an ambitious new design from Sweeny &Co Architects.

Developer Colonia Treuhand Holdings intends to replace the existing three-storey building — home to a Wild Wing location and other businesses — with a 19-storey tower containing purpose-built rental and office uses.

Renderings on the developer’s website dated late September 2023 depict the proposed tower and reveal sweeping updates to the plan in the year since the proposal was first submitted.

Updating the simple rectilinear design proposed last fall, the latest images in the 2023 iteration — which has not yet been officially resubmitted with the City — show a striking new architectural expression that builds off of the massing established with the initial plan.

Large arches would frame retail on the ground floor, while massive three-storey pill-shaped windows would line an office component, replacing the space that would be lost in the redevelopment.

Above, projecting balconies would rest on sculptural elements that combine to visually read as floating platforms.

A total of 145 purpose-built rental units are proposed, and would contribute to an expected wave of similarly-scaled developments that will centre around the future Ontario Line station.

Images show the new tower in context with Toronto’s oldest bar, The Wheatsheaf Tavern, two doors to the east.

The bar at the corner of King and Bathurst and the adjacent building to the west at 669 King Street West are not included in the 11,840-square-foot development site.

In fact, the development would only further insulate the properties from future development threats. Already heritage-protected, the Wheatsheaf building is also hemmed in by an under-construction development to the immediate south.

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