Thursday, March 28, 2024

Foreign buyers tax gets tentative approval from Victoria City Council

Share

Could this be the solution to stabilizing real estate prices and raising housing supplies in the city?

This week, Victoria city council has cautiously voted to allow the implementation of a 15 per cent foreign buyer’s tax in an effort to cool the real estate market in Victoria.

The proposal was put forth after a similar tax was implemented in Metro Vancouver and caused a drop in their real estate prices – it also, however, prompted foreign buyers to look to other cities like Victoria for real estate investments.

According to provincial government estimates, the percentage of foreign buyers in the Victoria housing market has risen by 7% since the execution of the Metro Vancouver tax.

However, the Vancouver tax may not have solved their problems, as real estate prices are slowly starting to rise again in spite of it.

Some people, like Victoria City Councillor Geoff Young is against the proposed tax, as it might unfairly target foreigners.

The successful vote was only preliminary, and will be subject to a secondary vote at a later date.

Once this vote is finalized, the city will ask the province to commence its imposition of the 15 per cent foreign buyers’ tax.

mm
Victoria Buzz Staffhttps://www.victoriabuzz.com
Your inside source for Greater Victoria happenings. Established in 2012.

Read more

Latest Stories