Canada could follow Australia in limiting foreign property ownership and tracking buyers, if the Conservatives stay in power. Ahead of the General Election in October, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has pledged that if his party wins again, it will look to track foreign real estate buyers and possibly introduce an Australian-style restriction, which limits foreign buyers to purchasing new homes. “If such foreign, non-resident buyers are artificially driving up the cost of real estate and Canadian families are shut out of the market, that is a matter we can and should do something about,” the Financial Post quotes him as saying. “A re-elected Conservative government will commit to collecting comprehensive data on the foreign non-resident purchase of Canadian real estate.” The issue of whether foreign buyers are contributing to rising prices in Vancouver and Toronto and the fact there is no official foreign buyer register is an issue for some voters. Around 15% of Vancouver condos are empty, Mr Harper claims. However, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp has been tracking the sale of new condos in Toronto and Vancouver and says less than 2.5% is foreign-owned. But some agents don’t believe the market will suffer from restrictions or drawing up a register. Vancouver realtor Andrew Hasman told Reuters, “Tracking is one thing and restricting buyers is another. Simply tracking won’t have any impact.” Buyers will find a way round any new rules, he adds. The photo of Vancouver by Phil Hansman is from FreeImages.com.
Despite pledges from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to track foreign property buyers should he win reelection, it is unlikely that the real estate market would suffer, claims Vancouver realtor Andrew Hasman. Hasman believes that buyers will simply be able to find a "new way" around any potential restricting laws, which would mimic the tracking system currently in place in Australia. The Prime Minister"s comments follow rising house prices in Vancouver and Toronto, which his Conservative Party believe are leaving Canadian residents unable to join the property ladder and are caused by a large amount of foreign buyers.