Alberta mortgage and land fees soar in budget

The housing market is going to suffer as Alberta bids to reduce its rising budget deficit.

The housing market is going to suffer as Alberta bids to reduce its rising budget deficit. Land title and mortgage registration fees are set to soar after the government concluded there was “room to grow” in its fee structure. Service Alberta minister Stephen Khan said that as a result of discussions with stakeholders including lawyers and real estate associations he found a belief that Alberta’s fees are very low compared to other provinces.

The changes will be introduced from July 1st 2015 and will mean that the flat-fee for land title and mortgage registration documents will rise by 50 per cent; from $50 to $75. The other part of the fees is variable and in some cases will be 6 times higher than the current level. That means that to buy a $500,000 home in Alberta with a $400,000 mortgage the fees will rise from $150 for land title and $140 for mortgage registration to $675 for land title and $555 for the mortgage registration. That means the total payable rising from $290 to $1,230. Read the full story.