The Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) and BC Real Estate Association are working to advocate for our members after the province announced a PST expansion into real estate services for this year’s budget.

We’re advocating to both repeal the expansion, and to get more clarity around how it would be implemented if the government chooses to move forward with it.

While the information on how the province will implement this expansion is limited at this time, we do know that:

• The tax expansion is set to begin on Oct. 1, 2026
• The real estate related services that are included in the expansion include:
  • Commissions related to buying and selling non-residential real estate
  • Rental property and strata management services
  • Accounting and bookkeeping services
  • Architectural services
  • Engineering and geoscience services

We’ll communicate more information as it becomes available.

GVR worked with BCREA to develop the following statement aimed at the government and media:

BC Real Estate Association Disappointed by Housing Tax Increases in 2026 Provincial Budget
Budget lacks measures to address looming decline in new home construction

In the immediate wake of the release of BC Budget 2026, the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) is raising concerns about budget housing measures that could exacerbate existing market issues.

In a provincial economy facing external headwinds and uncertainty, it is unsurprising that the BC Government is running a sizable deficit. However, the lack of a clear plan to return the provincial debt-to-GDP ratio to a sustainable path raises concerns about the province’s fiscal health. Mounting debt and rising debt-service costs will constrain the ability to provide tax relief for BC households or fund worthwhile programs.

These realities made Budget 2026 an important inflection point, particularly for housing affordability across the province. Unfortunately, the budget failed to address either the growing tax burden or the province’s housing issues. When faced with a potentially significant slowdown in new home construction, the government has opted to further burden the development sector with tax increases, imperiling the ability of the province to meet its own long-term housing supply targets.

Instead of policies to lower the cost of development, Budget 2026 doubled down on policies that have already proven ineffective at improving affordability: 

• Higher school taxation rates on development lands, which will increase costs that will be downloaded to buyers and further hinder project viability. 
• Applying PST to professional housing-related services, increasing soft costs and further challenging the economic viability of projects.
• Increasing the Speculation and Vacancy Tax to four per cent for foreign residents and others at a time when BC badly needs to attract capital to increase housing supply.

These tax increases will only make an already challenging development climate more difficult.

“There is unfortunately not a lot to like from either a macroeconomic or housing perspective in this budget,” says Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA Chief Economist. “We understand that the province is in a difficult position and needs to raise revenues, but doing so on the back of an already struggling housing sector will ultimately prove to be self-defeating.”