Less than four per cent of condo-apartments available to rent in Vancouver are owned by overseas investors – and that includes Canadians living overseas, according to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) survey published December 3.
The study found that in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), about 3.5 per cent of condominiums were owned by foreign buyers in 2015, up from 2.3 per cent a year earlier. The percentage rose in Vancouver City (downtown peninsula, Vancouver West Side and East Side) to 5.4 per cent, up from 3.4 per cent in 2014.
CMHC president Evan Siddall described the increase as a significant change year over year.
“No surprise: these are Canada’s largest and most international cities,” Siddall said in a speech to media in Montreal December 3.
This is the second year in a row that the CMHC has studied the proportion of foreign owners in the condo-apartment market. The corporation surveyed property managers of condo buildings in major cities in September and October to gather its data.
The CMHC said that for the purposes of this study, it considers anyone whose permanent residence is outside of Canada to be a foreign owner, including Canadians who live outside the country but who own and rent out condos in Canada.
Central Toronto was the area with the highest proportion of foreign ownership of condos, at 5.8 per cent, versus 4.3 per cent a year earlier. In Greater Toronto it was 3.3 per cent, up from 2.4 per cent.
The report acknowledged its limitations and the risk of inaccurate reporting by landlords.
It said, “A lack of accurate and reliable data makes it difficult to determine if or how foreign ownership may be affecting housing markets.
"For example, more information is needed in regards to investment and types of tenure other than condominium apartments, such as single-family homes. Information is also needed with respect to investor motivations: specifically, are foreign buyers purchasing units for family/personal occupancy or revenue-generation purposes (i.e., rental income or capital gains)?
“CMHC is… working to identify and fill significant data gaps.”
