Look Who it Was Random video

Foreign Buyer Tax Hits Vancouver — Is the Market Starting to Turn?

2,463 views · Published 4 September 2016 · 8:25 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: Mike Martins · 2016 · News & Politics

Watch on YouTube

I've lived here for around ten years, and I'm suddenly noticing For Sale signs everywhere. I'm seeing streets with two or three properties for sale, and I even passed one block where I counted considerably more.

That's unusual compared with what I've been accustomed to seeing during Vancouver's incredible housing boom.

The new foreign-buyer tax has now been implemented, sales activity appears to be slowing, and I'm wondering whether we're witnessing the beginning of a major change in Vancouver real estate.

I've had people attacking me in the comments because they disagree with my housing predictions. That's fine. I'm not claiming to be a real-estate expert. I'm doing what I've always done on this channel: observing what's happening around me, comparing it with things I've witnessed elsewhere and putting my prediction on the record.

I lived through the housing downturn in South Florida, and one thing I remember was the gradual appearance of For Sale signs. Then there were more. And more.

Could Vancouver be heading down a similar road?

I also discuss a strange story I've been hearing about real-estate agents allegedly paying homeowners to display SOLD signs as advertising. I'm calling this a rumor because that's exactly what it is—I haven't independently verified it.

My larger prediction remains the same: if investors begin walking away from pre-construction purchases, I think condos could be hit first, followed eventually by weakness elsewhere in the housing market.

Could Vancouver homes eventually return to prices from 10, 12 or even 15 years earlier?

I don't know.

I'm a guy driving around Vancouver in September 2016 telling you exactly what I'm seeing and what I think might happen next.

We'll see where it goes.

#vancouverhousing  #vancouverrealestate  #housingbubble  #housingcrash  #VancouverHousingMarket #ForeignBuyerTax #canadahousingmarket  #bcrealestate  #vancouvercondos  #housingaffordability  #realestate  #vancouver  #housingmarket  #forsale  #2016HousingMarket #mikemartins  #MikeMartinsChannel

More from this channel