Stephen Harper wades into the debate on "foreign buyers" in Vancouver's hot real-estate market
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised to shine a light on any impacts so-called foreign buyers might be having on Vancouver real-estate prices.
“A re-elected Conservative government will commit to collecting comprehensive data on the foreign non-resident purchase of Canadian real estate and as necessary, in coordination with the provinces, we will take action to ensure any foreign non-resident investment supports the availability and affordability of homes for Canadians,” he said at an August 12 campaign stop in Vancouver.
Harper, who has been in power since 2006, seemed to hint the move is overdue.
“There are real concerns that foreign, non-resident real-estate speculation is the reason some Canadian families find house prices beyond their budgets,” he said, according to a report by Reuters.
“In most developed economies, governments track this kind of information. But governments in Canada have not.
“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 comments mark Harper’s entry into a debate of considerable political controversy in Vancouver. Through 2015, no other issue has attracted as much media attention in Vancouver (with the possible exception of marijuana) as the suggestion that non-residents are buying condos and houses in numbers great enough to cause a sharp rise in overall prices.
In March 2015, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported the benchmark price for a single-family home on the city’s West Side was $2.4 million; on the East Side, it was $990,800. The same month, an analysis by Bing Thom Architects’ Andy Yan found 66 percent of single-family properties in Vancouver were assessed at $1 million or more. That was double the portion worth that much five years earlier.
In the absence of government data on foreign ownership, speculation about the possible scale of non-citizens’ impact on housing prices has run wild. Efforts to find a quantifiable answer have often focused on indicators that hold little meaning for an ethnically diverse city such as Vancouver; for example, properties purchased by people with “Chinese-sounding names”. That has led some to suggest the debate risks being hijacked by xenophobia and thinly veiled racism.
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair was in Vancouver on August 9 and used that opportunity to declare he believes housing is not a privilege but a right. Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau has yet to speak on the issue of housing affordability in Vancouver.
Comments
14 Comments
Mtaylor
Aug 12, 2015 at 2:26pm
It is nice to hear the issue addressed, but of course we know Stephen Harper's record on campaign promises. I'd be skeptical... But if they do get elected and do collect data, the Conservative party's hands-off, free market approach will likely continue and no real government intervention will happen.
George Washington
Aug 12, 2015 at 2:40pm
It is obvious nobody has figured out just how far our standard of living has fallen when foreigners (I.e. The Yacht People) can swarm in, sweep up real estate doing cash deals, and price is no object.
Wilhelm
Aug 12, 2015 at 3:40pm
Money laundering thru housing capital is done with the help of major banks and real estate moguls.
Richard S.
Aug 12, 2015 at 3:43pm
That's rich, given that Harper has sold off our national resource industries to the Chinese with barely a second glance.
Bruce
Aug 12, 2015 at 4:40pm
This is the same guy that gutted Statistics Canada, weakened the census, and made major cuts to CRA enforcement.
Zero Down Forty
Aug 12, 2015 at 5:06pm
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Conservatives pledge to let Canadians withdraw more money from RRSPs to buy homes, giving people more money to drive prices even higher.
This after the CMHC already announced it would allow homeowners to count the income from their secondary units when qualifying for a loan, giving people more money to drive prices even higher.
This after the Bank of Canada has lowered interest rates two times this year, giving people more money to drive prices even higher.
"Foreign money"; what a diversion. The money is created in Ottawa.
Maria S
Aug 13, 2015 at 3:26am
First Steven Harper goes behind closed door and signs a deal with China without Parliament knowing.
Gordon Campbell, Christie Clark and Steven Harper -- flew to Asia to endorse foreign investment. Well, what do you expect -- now only the Rich Investors can afford homes here. Not the blue collar workers.
It's Election time, Steven Harper is concerned with unaffordable housing. Mr. Harpoon you need to be paddled with a 2x4. You for created all this in the first place.
Canada has a better chance of Donald Trump coming up here and running his campaign.
Show the money!
Aug 13, 2015 at 3:42am
The question is where have Harper and the conservatives been for the last 10 years when the city of Vancouver was looking for money to create affordable/low income housing. Where has Harper been regarding housing the homeless and helping the working poor with housing. Like all politicians they wait until an election to make promises that make them look good. How about just doing something?
we need a PM who will make housing affordable
Aug 13, 2015 at 6:38am
through social housing benefits and numerous other programs.
Steve wants to study something that is a foregone conclusion but meanwhile is letting housing subsidies expire. This means many people are terrified and will suffer because they will not be able to afford their housing.
The housing debate needs to be fleshed out and properly defined, and this can not be done by politicians nor real estate agents. The journalists and academics need to help the public understand and we need some good stats on what is actually going on in our housing. As a nation we are falling behind.
ursa minor
Aug 13, 2015 at 8:56am
It's really a cowardly tactic for Harper to take. Instead of recognizing the federal government's responsibility to support affordable housing, he advocates tracking foreign ownership because it stokes the racist base of the Conservative Party.
Developers, Real Estate agencies and local governments decide what kind of housing gets built, but Harper opts to cast suspicion on people buying that housing because he's an anti-intellectual xenophobe who treats anyone born outside of Canada as a threat.
The fastest way to get housing prices to drop in Vancouver would be forcing Victoria to pass stringent campaign finance reform for municipal elections, so City Council wasn't dragged around by the nose by the Rennies and Aquilinis of the world.