BC assesses foreign buyers as GTA expects increase

BC Housing has been studying how foreign home buyers affect the market for more than a year but will need federal help in order to draw conclusions. Provincial premier Christy Clark says that the housing affordability agency’s study, together with initiatives to be announced in the budget this year, will lead to a better understanding of the issues, especially in Vancouver city. Clark said that it was important to understand how non-residents may be impacting affordability.

Meanwhile in Toronto, foreign buyers are expected to take a greater slice of the luxury market in 2016 according to realtor Barry Cohen. The Re/Max broker told the Financial Post that international buyers are fuelling the rise of $5 million properties in which he saw a 108 per cent increase in sales during 2015. Cohen says that the areas south of the 401 highway, including Forest Hill South and Rosedale, have pent-up demand for luxury homes and he expects the lower Canadian dollar to pique interest among buyers from China during the next 12 months. He noted that in 2015 the majority of buyers of luxury homes were local.

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