Alberta Budget 2024: Housing Outlook and Priorities Update
The Alberta government unveiled its 2024 Budget which emphasized investments in housing, strengthening healthcare and education, building prosperous communities, and fostering job creation in the province.
Budget Recap: Housing & Restructuring Land Title Fees
Budget 2024’s Capital Plan prioritizes investments in affordable housing and social assistance for Albertans facing the greatest need. Key projects and programs include:
- $405 million for the Affordable Housing Partnership Program, to support the goal to create13,000 affordable housing units.
- $130 million for the Seniors Lodge Modernization Program.
- $91 million for the Affordable Housing Strategy, to fund the maintenance of government-owned social housing buildings.
- 75 million for the Indigenous Housing Capital Program to construct, purchase, or redevelop housing for Indigenous peoples in need.
- Alberta’s current land title fees include base charges of $50, alongside variable rates of $2.00 per $5,000 of property value and $1.50 per $5,000 of mortgage value for property transfers and mortgage registrations, last revised in 2019. Alberta plans to replace the variable charges with a new Land Titles Registration Levy set at $5.00 per $5,000 of value for property transfers and mortgage registrations.
- For example: For a $450,000 home purchase with a 10% down payment, this translates to a levy of $955, a $553.50 increase from existing fees.
- The Budget states Albertans will continue to pay the lowest charges among comparable provinces. Legislation for these changes is expected in spring 2024 and additional revenue is estimated at $45 million for 2024-25 and $91 million in 2025-26.
The Budget also highlighted a notable increase in housing starts for single- family dwellings, particularly in Calgary, where they surged by over 40 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2023. Despite ongoing labor constraints within the construction sector, the pace of homebuilding is anticipated to sustain remarkable strength.
Lastly, the Budget illustrates how Albertans are grappling with mounting financial pressures as delinquency rates for non- mortgage products have surged. While numerous homeowners with mortgages have experienced an uptick in their payments, especially those on variable- rate mortgages with variable payments, the majority have yet to confront higher mortgage payments.
Read the 2024 Alberta Budget here: https://open.alberta.ca/publications/budget-2024
Mortgage Professionals Canada
Candace Perko, Mortgage Broker
