New Vancouver real estate figures anticipated after month of foreign-buyers tax
VANCOUVER — Metro Vancouver’s real estate market is bracing for a steep decline in detached home sales recorded in August, as new numbers will offer a first look at the immediate impact of a tax on foreign buyers.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver will release last month’s data on Friday, one month after the provincial government introduced the 15-per-cent tax.
But while observers expect an initial shock from the tax, they say sales are likely to rebound over time, pointing to the region’s strong cultural ties with China as well as the robust local job market.
Realtor Steve Saretsky has already crunched MLS data for the month of August and he said sales of detached homes dropped 50 per cent in Richmond, Vancouver and Burnaby compared to the average number of sales in August between 2010 and 2014. He left August 2015 out of his calculation because it was an abnormally hot month.