Vancouver home sales fall in August after new tax on foreign buyers
VANCOUVER — Home sales in the Vancouver area tumbled 26 per cent in August compared to the same month last year, as observers say a new tax on foreign buyers accelerated a cooling trend in the market.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver released the data a month after the British Columbia government implemented a 15-per-cent tax on foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver in an effort to chill one of the hottest markets in North America.
Dan Morrison, president of the real estate board, said sales have been slowing down for several months. While the tax has added to the downturn, it’s hard to say how much, he said.
“There’s no question the foreign-buyers’ tax is having an effect, and that effect is causing everybody to hold their breath and say, ‘What’s going to happen?’ ” he said Friday.