Canadians and non-Canadians who do not live in Metro Vancouver own 4.8 percent of homes in the region.

That’s according to a report about homeownership by non-residents that was produced by Statistics Canada, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

A non-resident is either a Canadian citizen born in the country, and whose principal residence is outside the Canada, or a non-Canadian, who was not born in Canada, but owns a property in the country.

Foreign buyers or non-Canadians are often blamed for the expensive real estate market in Metro Vancouver.

Non-Canadian buyers now pay an additional 15 percent property transfer tax, a levy that became effective on August 2, 2016.

However, prices have kept increasing.

The report notes that the value of properties owned by non-residents account for 5.1 percent of the total value of homes in Metro Vancouver.

According to the report, 7.9 percent of condo units and 3.2 percent of single-detached homes in the region are owned by non-residents.

The City of Vancouver had the biggest rate of non-resident ownership at 7.6 percent. Richmond and West Vancouver came second and third, at 7.5 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively.

According to the report, non-residents have more expensive properties than residents.

Condos owned by non-residents on average are 30.4 percent higher in value than those owned by residents.

For single-detached homes, properties owned by non-residents have an average value of $2.3 million compared to $1.6 million for resident-owned homes.