Foreign buyers tax slows Vancouver home sales for August: BCREA

It seems the newly introduced foreign buyers tax might be starting to affect Vancouver’s housing market already.

A new report from the British Columbia Real Estate Association shows a combination of the new 15% tax on foreign buyers and the 3% property transfer tax on homes over $2 million slowed Vancouver’s housing market for August.

See also

• Richmond businesses negatively impacted by high housing prices

The slowing of luxury home sales in Vancouver has caused the average home price in the province to decline to $569,393 despite a 1.5% increase in provincial sales since July, according to BCREA chief economist Cameron Muir.

“Strong housing demand across most regions of the province offset slowing home sales in Vancouver last month,” he says.

A total of 8,945 homes were for sale on the Multiple Listing Service in August, with total sales dollar volume declining 6.7% year over year to $5.1 billion.