"...Should we try to sell our house before the approval to save on capital gains? "-- approval of PR does not mean anything from taxation point of view. As I understand, the PR becomes a resident of Canada for taxation purposes on the day of landing, assuming that day is a "hard" landing. And you, the Sponsor, will become a resident of Canada ( as far as taxation) on a day of your return to Canada.
"...we do not want to pay capital gains in both countries!" - do not forget that as far as US taxation you can exclude $250,000 of your profit from the sale of your home if you are single and $500,000 of the profit if you’re filing taxes jointly as a married couple. However, you do have to meet specific requirements to claim this exclusion:
- The home must be your primary residence.
- You must have owned the home for at least two years.
- You must have lived in the home for at least two of the past five years.
Are you expecting to have $500,000 or more in capital gains from the sale? Maybe not, so do not worry about US.