1-in-10 condos in Vancouver have non-resident owners: report

Condominium towers in downtown Vancouver. (Shutterstock)

A new report released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) assesses the proportion of non-resident ownership and non-resident participation in key housing markets in the country.

It found that 7.6% of all residential properties in Vancouver have at least one non-resident owner, with this number falling slightly to 6.2% province-wide. Contrast this with 3.8% for Toronto (3.3% in Ontario) and 4.3% for Halifax (6.2% in Nova Scotia).

Insightfully, according to the federal crown corporation, newer Vancouver properties constructed during the period from 2016 to 2017 had a higher proportion of non-resident ownership, with 15.3% properties having at least one non-resident owner — compared to 11.2% (about one-in-10 units) for those properties constructed between 2011 and 2015 and less than 6% for properties built between 1961 and 1990.

The non-resident ownership figure is higher for Vancouver condominiums constructed from 2016 to 2017, with the proportion listed at 19.2% (about one-in-five units).

CMHC

“Similar to single-detached houses (although not to the same extent), condominium apartments exhibit a positive correlation between non-resident ownership rates and value differentials, both of which tend to be higher in newer properties,” reads the report.

“Interestingly, while Metro Vancouver had the highest non-resident value differential for single-detached units, it has a relatively modest one for condominium apartments despite having a high non-resident ownership rate of 19.6%. In comparison, the City of Vancouver had the highest property value differential for condominium apartments, as non-residents preferred newer, higher-end units compared with the diversity of properties owned by residents.”

The report also found that the median assessment value of condominiums owned by non-residents is 29.1% higher than those owned by residents in BC. Within Vancouver, the median assessment value of a condominium owned by a non-resident is $96,000 more than one owned by a resident.

About half of properties in BC had two owners, and most resident-owned properties in the Vancouver area had two owners, while non-resident owned properties usually have one.

1-in-10 condos in Vancouver have non-resident owners: report

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