The tax risks of renting out your home: Canadian real estate news for August 19

Here are The Globe and Mail’s top housing and real estate stories this week, with the lowest mortgage rates available in Canada today, commentary from our mortgage expert and one home worth a look.

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Homeowners renting their properties can jeopardize thousands in tax benefits

There are thousands of dollars available in tax benefits for Canadians buying their first property. But what you may not know is that you could lose them by renting to tenants, because many of them require that you use the property as your primary residence. Some of these benefits include exemptions for land transfer taxes and the First-Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit, writes Salmaan Farooqui.

Home-sharing platforms help students find seniors who have empty bedrooms

Two companies, Sparrow Living and SpacesShared, want to tap an unused part of the housing market by matching renters with homeowners who have empty bedrooms. Both home-sharing platforms say they’ve been inundated by requests since they launched, reports Rachelle Younglai. Due to an aging population and limited downsizing options, more Canadians are living in homes with empty bedrooms, according to census data.

Canada’s housing market slowed in July amid interest rates uncertainty

The housing market slowed in July with sales down 0.7 per cent, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. The ambiguity surrounding the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hike campaign has weighed on would-be buyers, who do not know whether mortgages will continue to become more expensive, Younglai reports.

New listings continued to climb, up 5.6 per cent in July, but the volume remains below average. CREA’s home price index was $754,800 in July.

This week’s lowest available mortgage rates

Even the hint of more hikes will make some borrowers throw in the towel and lock in at this point. That might be an unfortunate decision if we’re truly near the top of the rate cycle as economists and the market expect, but there’s just no way to know for sure, writes Robert McLister in his weekly column.

Home of the week: A Prince Edward County retreat, with a pickleball court

131 Peats Point Rd., Prince Edward County, Ont.

This lakeside Prince Edward County cottage sits on a 1.99-acre lot and offers three bedrooms and two lofts to expand the house’s room for guests. “My cousin had a family reunion there, 30 of them stayed over,” the owner’s daughter said. Stepping into the foyer it’s clear the house is planned around the lake view: A huge deck acts as a courtyard between the two wings of the house with massive window walls that draw the lake views in

Down a long laneway is a large asphalt courtyard that’s painted with a pickleball court outline.