B.C. now first province to require three-day cooling-off period for homebuyers

British Columbia has become the first province to require a three-day cooling-off period for buyers after they’ve signed an agreement to purchase a home.

The new homebuyer protection period is designed to give purchasers more time to arrange financing or home inspections after a deal has been accepted, details that the provincial government has said were neglected in past sizzling housing markets.

The government said in a statement that the extra days would also give buyers more time to consider if the purchase is right for them amid high-pressure sales or as interest rates climb.

Tsur Somerville, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, said the change, which took effect on Tuesday, is targeting a concern that isn’t a problem in the current cooler market.

He said sellers no longer have dozens of buyers willing to give up protections like home inspections to push their bid to the top, the way they did when the plan was unveiled in 2021.