Eby accuses Bernier of `flipping'

Liberal housing critic says he's fixing up decrepit homes, making `minimal' profit

NDP leadership hopeful David Eby is accusing the B.C. Liberals' housing critic of flipping houses in Dawson Creek, the type of activity the former housing minister says drives up real estate costs for families and should be taxed.

Mike Bernier, B.C. Liberal MLA for Peace River South, says he's not flipping houses, rather he bought houses that were abandoned and uninhabitable, renovated them and then put them on the market at a rate that's still affordable for first-time homebuyers.

Bernier sold three Dawson Creek properties within 14 months of buying them and made more than $500,000 in returns on the three properties since 2018. However, Bernier said that doesn't take into account at least $400,000 in renovation costs, which means any profits he and his wife made are “minimal.”

“What I've been doing is I've been buying these old houses that nobody else wants, that look like they should be torn down. And I've been fixing them up and then selling them as affordable housing,” Bernier told Postmedia News on Monday. Bernier said people in his community are happy about what he's doing, which he said is a “very good service.” According to property records provided by Eby's camp, Bernier bought a house at 1509 101 Ave. for $110,000 on Oct. 1, 2018 and sold it for $260,000, more than doubling his money with a return of $150,000.

Bernier, through his company Jomic Enterprises, bought a home at 9001 8 St. on March 11, 2020 for $75,000 and sold it a year later on March 15, 2021 for $324,000, a return of $249,000.

The company also purchased a house at 1425 100 Ave. on April 16, 2021 for $50,000. On March 31, Bernier shared the real estate listing for the blue two-bedroom bungalow on Facebook with a price of $229,000. That would mean a $179,000 return if the home sold for the asking price.

Eby said last week that if he becomes premier of B.C., real estate profiteering would be subject to a flipping tax. The tax was one plank of Eby's housing platform, which he said aims to deter real estate speculators and increase the housing supply for middle-class families trying to enter the market.

The tax rate, which Eby did not specify, will be highest for those who hold properties for the shortest period of time and goes down to zero after two years.

“People are opposed to the idea of flipping because they know it increases costs for people,” Eby told Postmedia News on Sunday.

“What (Bernier) did was make these homes unaffordable for many families and for his own profit. And that's why I fundamentally disagree with this kind of activity in the housing market. I believe that the housing market is there to provide housing for families.”

Kevin Falcon tapped Bernier to be housing critic in February 2022.

Bernier filed a public disclosure statement on May 5, 2022 that lists Jomic Enterprises Ltd. as a controlled private corporation owned by him and his wife. Its assets were listed as the residential property at 1425 100 Ave. in Dawson Creek. MLAs are required to disclose any assets, liabilities and financial interests to the conflict-of-interest commissioner.

Finance critic Peter Milobar was made available to speak about Eby's housing platform last week. He said the plan calls for more taxation and more government money going into the system, a strategy that has not worked during the NDP's five years in power and during Eby's two years as housing minister.

Bernier said he's not against measures that tax people who are buying homes on speculation, sitting on them without doing any improvements and then selling for profit by “gambling on where the markets are going to go.”

However, Bernier said developers who are fixing up homes and providing a benefit to the community should be exempt from such a tax.