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October 3, 2008
REALTORS® Call for Government Funding for Energy "Labeling" of Private Homes
Victoria area REALTORS®, through the Victoria Real Estate Board, have asked the provincial government to fund energy ‘labeling’ of private homes.
Victoria Real Estate Board President, Tony Joe, told Thursday’s Langford hearings for the Legislature’s annual Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services on the next provincial budget that local REALTORS® are ready to help move this idea forward. "In California, a home seller must disclose the home’s energy rating to a prospective buyer," noted Joe. "Introduction of such a program in BC would not have to be too elaborate or costly, but it would put a new focus on the value of energy conservation," he added.
Joe suggested such a move would be a logical step following announcement last spring of the province’s Water Plan that noted ‘British Columbia will lead a voluntary, water-efficiency labeling system for water-consuming products’. "The family home is the biggest product on the market and the biggest purchase most people make in a lifetime, so we think it’s time to begin with a local energy labeling pilot project," said Joe. "We’re prepared to help and volunteer time, but we need the next provincial budget to provide the specified funding to make it happen," Joe added.
Joe also told the legislative committee that the Board supports calls for changing the formula for the Property Transfer Tax from 1% on the first $200,000 of a home purchase to 1% on the first $400,000 noting this would ease the pain for home buyers from what local REALTORS® call the "worst" home buyer’s tax in Canada.
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