B.C. property data show sharp decline in foreign investment after tax
VICTORIA — Government data released Friday show a steep drop in real estate transactions in the Vancouver area after British Columbia introduced a tax for foreign buyers last summer.
Tax revenues from property transfers in Metro Vancouver indicate there were almost 15,000 transactions in a about a seven-week period ending Aug. 1, but the number declined to a low of about 4,700 in October.
The 15-per-cent tax went into effect on Aug. 2.
The number of foreign buyers fell from about 1,970 in the period ending Aug. 1, to 60 in the rest of August.