Finance minister Chrystia Freeland announced on Thursday that most foreigners would be barred from purchasing real estate in Canada for…
Finance minister Chrystia Freeland announced on Thursday that most foreigners would be barred from purchasing real estate in Canada for the next two years in an effort to combat the housing crisis. Home prices in Canada have risen over 50% since 2020 as demand steadily increases and available inventory diminishes. This is an authoritarian way of handling the housing crisis that will not help tax paying Canadians, but rather limit more of their rights once again by the Trudeau government which does not seem to like individuality at all.
The Bank of Canada announced a record jump in housing costs this past February, with the benchmark price across the provinces reaching C$869,300. For years foreigners have seen Canada’s rising real estate market as a safe haven to park money. Chinese investors found it particularly lucrative when converting the yuan to CAD. The Trudeau Administration previously placed a 1% tax on vacant foreign-owned land.
“I don’t think prices are going to fall as a result, though I do think it takes away at least some of the competition in what is the most competitive market in Canadian housing history,” Simeon Papailias, founder of real estate investment firm REC Canada. “I don’t think a two-year band-aid is going to have an impact on what’s a fundamental lack of supply.” This is the general consensus in Canada as people simply want affordable housing, and believe these measures will have a positive impact on prices. There is a good chance this ban will last beyond the two-year period as lawmakers remain misled on what is driving the real estate markets.
The ban does not prohibit purchasing through corporations, so of course great reset pushing companies such as, Vanguard and BlackRock can continue profiting while individuals face the burden of this new law but only certain individuals without the money to bypass the system.