Wahi spoke to experts about what Canada\u2019s tweaked foreign buyer rules mean for the housing market.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”21px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” header_3_font_size=”1.25rem” header_3_line_height=”1.88rem” header_4_font=”|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”1.25rem” header_4_line_height=”1.88rem” custom_margin=”||11px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”21px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”25px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]
By Brennan Doherty<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>| 4 minute read<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_title title=”off” author=”off” date_format=”M j” categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||17px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px||3px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” width_tablet=”” width_phone=”100%” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0px||9px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” width__hover_enabled=”off|desktop” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9mZWF0dXJlZF9pbWFnZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7fX0=@” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”src” _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”1px||29px|||” border_radii=”on|32px|32px|32px|32px” border_radii_tablet=”on|32px|32px|32px|32px” border_radii_phone=”on|0px|0px|0px|0px” border_radii_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”1.13rem” text_line_height=”1.75rem” custom_margin=”-18px||2px|||” custom_padding=”||7px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”||7px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”|15px||15px|false|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” hover_enabled=”0″ text_font_size_tablet=”1.13rem” text_font_size_phone=”0.9rem” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] The rule changes include relaxing the limit of foreign investment or control in a new residential project from 3% to 10%.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”1px||39px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”16px||16px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”21px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” header_3_font_size=”1.25rem” header_3_line_height=”1.88rem” header_4_font=”|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”1.25rem” header_4_line_height=”1.88rem” text_font_size_tablet=”21px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”25px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”] Last month\u2019s changes to Canada\u2019s moratorium on foreign real estate purchases frees up more exemptions for non-Canadian buyers, but experts say it is far too early to tell whether the modified policy will improve housing affordability across the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The federal government promised in their 2022 annual budget to ban real estate purchases by non-Canadian citizens or permanent residents for two years. Foreign investment in residential development projects would be capped at 3%. Newcomers granted refugee status, non-Canadians who inherited property, and foreign buyers in certain remote areas were exempted from the new rules.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe will prevent foreign buyers from parking their money in Canada by buying up homes,\u201d the federal government promised in its initial announcement of the policy. \u201cWe will make sure that houses are being used as homes, rather than as commodities to be traded.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yet relatively few Canadian residential properties are owned by foreigners. According to Statistics Canada data from 2020, just 2.6% of all properties in the Greater Toronto<\/a> Area and outlying cities were owned by non-residents. In a set of recent modifications to the moratorium, Ottawa<\/a> is allowing more ways for non-resident buyers to own their own homes while still effectively barring absentee ownership.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Effective March 27, Housing and Diversity and Inclusion Minister Ahmed Hussen adjusted its regulations to allow anyone holding a work permit to buy residential property, even if they aren\u2019t a permanent resident or citizen. The change would only apply to newcomers who have at least six months left on their work permits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to give the right people the opportunity to buy,\u201d says Nathan Adorjan, broker of record at Wahi. \u201cThe real concern was people who are not looking to live in this country, and just buying and keeping it vacant.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The new rules also relaxed the limit of foreign investment or control in a residential project from 3% to 10%. Mark V. Lewis, a partner at Bennett Jones LLP in Vancouver, said the original rules were intended to lower housing demand, but ended up affecting the supply side.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#edf7f3″ custom_padding=”32px||32px||true|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||25px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.2″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#38505b” header_2_font_size=”2.63rem” header_2_line_height=”3.75rem” max_width=”800px” module_alignment=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ header_2_font_size_tablet=”32px” header_2_font_size_phone=”27px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”3.75rem” header_2_line_height_phone=”32px” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] \u201cIf you were a developer in Hamilton<\/a>, and you had an investor from Detroit who was in for 6% and providing some of the capital for your project \u2014 all of a sudden, you\u2019re now deemed to be a foreign buyer,\u201d Lewis explains.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Canadian Home Builders Association described the original rules as \u201cseverely hampering our industry and the production of new housing supply\u201d in a March statement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Increasing the restriction to 10% was helpful for homebuilders, Lewis said, but it was ultimately a compromise with the federal government. In submissions to the federal government on the foreign buyer moratorium, the real estate sector was asking for a threshold of around 20% to 25%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The original foreign buyer moratorium prohibited the purchase of any vacant land zoned for residential and mixed use development by non-Canadians, a rule that bureaucrats acknowledged in the original regulations published last December would be very hard to enforce. \u201cIt caused a lot of problems,\u201d Lewis says.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As of the end of March, foreign buyers can not only buy vacant land zoned for residential and mixed use, but they can also buy residential property for the purpose of development. This would allow a non-Canadian investor to, for example, buy a house for the purpose of knocking it down and building a mid-rise apartment or multiplex.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ultimately, the federal government pitched the revised regulations as a compromise between housing newcomers to Canada and keeping out absentee investors. \u201cThese amendments will allow homeowners to put down roots in Canada through home ownership and businesses, to create jobs and build homes by adding to the housing supply in Canadian cities,\u201d Minister Hussen said in a statement last month.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#f0faf4″ min_height=”334.8px” custom_padding=”27px||0px|||” global_module=”849″ saved_tabs=”all” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”49px||61px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#38505b” header_2_font_size=”2.63rem” header_2_line_height=”3.2rem” custom_margin=”||25px|||” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”|5px||5px|false|true” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” header_2_font_size_tablet=”2.63rem” header_2_font_size_phone=”2.4rem” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_line_height_tablet=”3.75rem” header_2_line_height_phone=”2.5rem” header_2_line_height_last_edited=”on|desktop” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”] Join Wahi today and find out how easy it is to get real estate in the GTA<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Divider” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” height=”5px” height_tablet=”” height_phone=”1px” height_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”] [\/et_pb_divider][wahi_wahiButton url=”\/ca\/en\/real-estate\/sign-up” button_font_color=”#000000″ button_color=”#EB7161″ circle_color=”#000000″ border_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” focus_color=”#000000″ is_white_hover_text=”on” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”] GET STARTED<\/p>[\/wahi_wahiButton][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”29px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||4px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”21px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” header_3_font_size=”1.25rem” header_3_line_height=”1.88rem” header_4_font=”|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”1.25rem” header_4_line_height=”1.88rem” text_font_size_tablet=”21px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”25px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”] But it remains to be seen whether the foreign buyer moratorium will actually bring down housing demand. Lewis isn\u2019t sure, and points to the 50% foreign buyer tax levied against foreign homebuyers in the Lower Mainland, Victoria<\/a>, Kelowna<\/a>, and other expensive areas of B.C in 2016. These areas continued to see record sales growth, even despite the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n“As of the end of March, foreign buyers can not only buy vacant land zoned for residential and mixed use, but they can also buy residential property for the purpose of development.”<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”32px||47px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”11px||14px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”21px” text_line_height=”1.6em” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” header_2_line_height=”1.3em” header_3_font_size=”1.25rem” header_3_line_height=”1.88rem” header_4_font=”|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”1.25rem” header_4_line_height=”1.88rem” text_font_size_tablet=”21px” text_font_size_phone=”16px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” header_2_font_size_tablet=”36px” header_2_font_size_phone=”25px” header_2_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]
We put the real<\/em> back in real estate.<\/span><\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#e8db3a” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” min_height=”35.8px” custom_margin=”-24px||32px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”|26px||26px|false|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”]