There was a “significant increase” in the percentage of foreign owners of Vancouver condos between 2014 and 2015, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and new data shows that the percentage increases by a large margin for newer condos.
Overall, the CMHC has found that 210,696 condo units in Vancouver had foreign owners in 2015, representing 3.5% of the total condo stock in the city. This is up more than a full percentage point compared with 2.3% (203,824 units) in 2014.
The percentage of foreign owners jumps considerably for newer buildings. In 2015, 6% of buildings built in 2010 or later were owned by foreign residents. This is more than four times higher than the 1.4% foreign ownership rate of buildings built before 1990.
In 2014, 1% of condos built before 1990 had foreign owners. Data for condos built in 2010 or later is not available for 2014.
“In the Vancouver CMA…the age of the building is an important factor in determining the share of foreign ownership,” the CMHC said in its report.
The discrepancy based on the year a condo was built is even more striking in Toronto. In 2015, foreign owners accounted for 7.4% of owners of structures built after 2010, compared with 1.2% for those built before 1990.
“In the Toronto and Vancouver CMAs, the shares of foreign ownership…showed a statistically significant increase from 2014 to 2015,” the report said.
“Moreover, a surge in completion of new condominium buildings substantially increased the total number of units that were covered in the 2015 survey compared to the 2014 survey. This created the need for further analysis to assess the potential implications of the year of completion on the share of foreign ownership.”
Warren Kirkland, Canadian regional economist for TD Economics, said foreign ownership is likely playing a factor in booming housing starts in B.C. and Ontario.
“CMHC noted that the share of newer condos in Vancouver and Toronto owned by foreign investors was on the rise in 2015,” Kirkland said.
“We expect this will continue to be a factor influencing the number of starts, given the low level of the Canadian dollar.”
References: https://www.biv.com/article/
