VICTORIA — The provincial government has released its first snapshot of foreign real estate transactions across British Columbia.
Finance Minister Mike de Jong says just over three per cent of sales between June 10 and June 29 involved foreign buyers, mostly from China.
Forty-seven of those transactions were within the city of Vancouver while 260 involved properties around Metro Vancouver.
Figures released by the Finance Ministry show the value of all the transactions across the province involving foreign buyers totalled $390 million during the three-week period.
Early data around foreign real estate transactions in #BC is now available, https://t.co/wRr0oe96Es pic.twitter.com/IBLlUdE1CY
— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) July 7, 2016
That amounts to 5.1 per cent of the $7.6 billion that changed hands in just over 10,000 residential real estate sales around B.C.
De Jong brought in measures in the February budget to track the role of foreign ownership in B.C.'s red-hot housing market after claims that foreign buyers affect affordability and vacancy rates.
The data is drawn from the filings of Property Transfer Tax forms by purchasers of residential real estate in British Columbia between June 10 and June 29, 2016.
The data represents a first, early look at the rate and value of purchases of residential property by foreign nationals—people who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents.
Main findings include, between June 10 and June 29, 2016:
10,148 residential real estate transactions in B.C., totalling more than $7.6 billion.
337 transactions (3.3%) involved foreign nationals, worth $390 million (5.1%).
In Metro Vancouver, there were 5,118 transactions worth nearly $5.4 billion, of which 260 involved foreign nationals (5.1%), worth $351 million (6.5%)
In the City of Vancouver, there were 1,139 transactions, totalling more than $1.6 billion. 47 of these involved foreign nationals (4.1%), worth $64 million (3.9%).
Government has released additional data on Richmond, Surrey, Burnaby and the Capital Regional District. Further updates will be available.
