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Not sure how this narrative plays out in Canada, but given that it's raised in California but doesn't pass the laugh test I don't have much hope for it. Not onl

Not sure how this narrative plays out in Canada, but given that it's raised in California but doesn't pass the laugh test I don't have much hope for it. Not only is such foreign ownership rather limited in terms of the % of total units it affects, but this would really only drive up housing prices if not only were these investments being made but that the investors for whatever reasons were leaving the units empty and/or converting them from being residential and thus actually taking them off the market and putting upwards pressure on other units. But this is nonsensical and basically never happens, and I don't think you're seeing skyrocketing vacancy rates in any of these "overheated" housing markets.

bo1024 6y ago
First result I found: > in San Francisco – as well as many other high-cost cities such as Vancouver, London, and New York – we see a different phenomenon: an extremely tight housing market with skyrocketing rents, that puzzlingly also has a high vacancy rate. ... > It is difficult to know whether an “absentee” or foreign buyer has an intent to occupy the unit or rent the unit, or whether the unit is intended solely to be an investment property. ... > In August 2017, CoreLogic estimates that absentee buyers purchased 15.8% of homes in the San Francisco Bay area. In September, this number increased to 17.1%. 23 Thus, while we do not know how many of these units purchased by absentee buyers in the Bay Area may be held vacant, it seems to be a significant amount of ongoing sales in the region. https://ternercenter.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/CR_Final_2.3.19.pdf https://ternercenter.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/CR...
- JamisonM 6y ago
  If every empty house on the market in SF or Vancouver came on the market tomorrow it wouldn't make a dent in housing prices. Vancouver has actually seen some price declines as recently as 2018 and CMHC says it is driven by new construction - any jurisdiction where you can't build will attract investors that can afford to sit on empty properties and still expect a reasonable return. It is just the iron law of modern real estate.

bo1024 6y ago

First result I found: > in San Francisco – as well as many other high-cost cities such as Vancouver, London, and New York – we see a different phenomenon: an extremely tight housing market with skyrocketing rents, that puzzlingly also has a high vacancy rate. ... > It is difficult to know whether an “absentee” or foreign buyer has an intent to occupy the unit or rent the unit, or whether the unit is intended solely to be an investment property. ... > In August 2017, CoreLogic estimates that absentee buyers purchased 15.8% of homes in the San Francisco Bay area. In September, this number increased to 17.1%. 23 Thus, while we do not know how many of these units purchased by absentee buyers in the Bay Area may be held vacant, it seems to be a significant amount of ongoing sales in the region. https://ternercenter.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/CR_Final_2.3.19.pdf https://ternercenter.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/CR...

JamisonM 6y ago
If every empty house on the market in SF or Vancouver came on the market tomorrow it wouldn't make a dent in housing prices. Vancouver has actually seen some price declines as recently as 2018 and CMHC says it is driven by new construction - any jurisdiction where you can't build will attract investors that can afford to sit on empty properties and still expect a reasonable return. It is just the iron law of modern real estate.