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Chinese Buyers Flee Vancouver After 15% Tax — Toronto your Next !

2,234 views · Published 24 September 2016 · 8:14 · Indexed 25 September 2026

Channel: Mike Martins · 2016 · News & Politics

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New provincial government data is showing a dramatic change in foreign participation in Metro Vancouver real estate following British Columbia's introduction of the new 15% additional property transfer tax on foreign buyers.

According to the Business in Vancouver article I'm discussing in this video, foreign buyers represented 13.2% of Metro Vancouver transactions between June 10 and August 1. After the new tax took effect on August 2, that reportedly dropped to just 0.9% through the end of August.

That's an enormous change in a very short period of time.

Another incredible number in the article concerns July 29—the final business day before transactions would be affected by the new tax. According to the figures being reported, 55% of transactions registered in Metro Vancouver that day involved foreign buyers, representing more than $850 million in residential property transactions.

So what happens next?

That's the question I've been asking throughout this Vancouver housing series.

I've argued repeatedly that Vancouver housing prices have become completely disconnected from what local families can reasonably afford and from what the same amount of money can purchase elsewhere in North America. I'm not interested in paying millions of dollars simply because that's what somebody says a Vancouver property is worth.

I'm looking for value for money.

I'm also hearing that investors could begin looking elsewhere, particularly toward Toronto. If foreign investment helped drive Vancouver prices higher, what happens when government policy suddenly makes Vancouver less attractive? Does that money disappear from Canadian real estate—or does it simply move into another Canadian market?

That's something I'm going to be watching closely.

This isn't about race. It's about housing, investment, affordability, government policy and whether ordinary Canadians can continue to afford homes in their own communities.

Let me know what you think. Is the 15% foreign buyer tax actually working? And if investment starts leaving Vancouver, where does that money go next?

Mike Martins Channel — September 2016

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