GMREB cautions against hasty imposition of foreign buyers’ tax

In a statement earlier this week, the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board (GMREB) urged provincial officials to take due diligence before imposing a foreign buyer’s tax similar to that of B.C. and Ontario.

This is because the Montreal market is nowhere near being overheated, and because “the proportion of foreign buyers is quite different in Montréal compared to Toronto and Vancouver.”

“Looking at the dwelling vacancy rate, the pace of price growth, the number of months of inventory, as well as the available data on the percentage of foreign buyers, there is nothing to suggest that there is a situation in Montréal that requires a quick response,” GMREB board of directors chairperson Mathieu Cousineau said.

Fresh data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation estimated that the share of foreign buyers in the entire Montreal metropolitan area across all property types is only 1.5 per cent, a far cry from the 9.7 per cent proportion in Vancouver and the 4.9 per cent in Toronto.

“Overall, foreign buyers still have little impact on property prices in Greater Montréal. According to our brokers in the field, foreign buyers are present primarily in more well-off markets such as Ville Mont-Royal and Westmount,” according to the GMREB statement.

Cousineau added, however, that “we do believe that there is an urgent need to put in place the means to effectively identify property purchases by foreign nationals. This will enable us to monitor the evolving situation and make informed decisions.”

“It is important not to lump all foreign buyers together. A distinction must be made between foreign investors who buy properties for speculation and foreign buyers who establish their principal residence here,” the GMREB concluded.









Source: http://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/news/gmreb-cautions-against-hasty-imposition-of-foreign-buyers-tax-225643.aspx