TREB accuses the land transfer tax of pushing buyers to the ’burbs

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, Torontonians are so horrified by the land transfer tax that they’re running for the suburbs. The context: home sales and values are way, way up in the suburbs, while sales and values in the city are, well, also up, but less so. The TREB believes the land transfer tax is to blame (although Richard Silver, president of the board, admitted cheaper homes might also have something to do with it) and cites a recent poll that said 75 per cent of would-be buyers in Toronto and the 905 regions say they’re more likely to buy outside the city because of the tax as proof that it is pushing homebuyers away. However, that 75 per cent includes people who already live in the ‘burbs or wanted to move there anyway—we’d say the numbers suggest there’s some opposition to the tax, but don’t quite confirm a mass exodus of disgruntled house-hunters. [Financial Post]