One out of every 10 condos built between 2016 and 2017 in the city of Toronto is owned by a non-resident of Canada. And nearly 9 per cent of recently built condos from 2006 to 2017 in the city have had at least one non-resident owner on title, according to a new government data report analyzed by Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, and an urban planner who recently provided similar analysis for Vancouver.
“We are seeing that the prevalence of residential property ownership in Toronto and Vancouver doesn’t necessarily mean you pay income taxes here,” he says. In metro Toronto, there were 66,240 properties worth $44-billion involving ownership by at least one non-resident. In Metro Vancouver, by comparison, non-residents participated in the ownership of 58,710 properties valued at $76-billion.
“They are the preferred currency on this type of exchange as opposed to townhouses, rowhouses and semi-attached houses,” Mr. Yan says.
“That [figure] is purely non-residents. If we think about what percentage is being fuelled by foreign capital, via someone who is a resident here, it’s probably more than double.“When we think about how home prices get so disconnected from fundamentals, this is a big factor behind that. When we have a lot of money flowing from overseas, and people investing in our housing market, the constraint isn’t on income – it’s on how much money can get over here to push prices up.
“I think it’s disappointing to have seen that. It’s great that we are seeing this data now, but think about the Vancouver and Toronto housing markets, and what has changed over the last four years, and the acceleration in prices. This is where data is important, had some of this been more visible and clear, could they have mitigated these risks and this acceleration in home prices? Because volatility in the market is not good.
“Our education supports turning kids into permanent residents. So you send your kids over, you get them to become a permanent resident through the education system, and you start sending money over. And that’s been the whole story of this entire run-up in both cities.”
Understated, guaranteed.
It's likely higher. vanre
Helena_Wish Probably more, like unofficial %s in vanre.
Most went up during the rail lands boom.
Oh dear, another BC like Speculation Propertv Tax being imposed on All property owners, hope not
Now do Vancouver
Tax non residents fordnation
Mine is for sale 2million is a bargain!!!!
heh, worked out well for van, why not ? 😬👍