Bc Developers Take Bold Action To Ignite Housing Sales

I have often written about the great need we have in Canada, and especially in the GTA, for both the private and public sectors to think creatively and work together to solve our housing supply/affordability crisis. I have also written about the counterproductive move on the part of the Government of Canada to ban foreign ownership of Canadian housing, which is currently in effect until January 1, 2027. Recently, I read about developers in Vancouver who collectively wrote an open letter to the federal government asking that the ban be reconsidered due to current market conditions. Although the BC provincial government has not been receptive to the idea, I applaud Beedie, Cressey, Intracorp, Polygon, and Westbank for composing their letter entitled “Crisis & Revitalization of the Real Estate/Construction Industry in BC.”

Disallowing foreign investment in Canadian real estate is not a good idea. Most major cities in the world are built on investor money.  Foreign investors have always formed an important part of the presale condo market. The ban also affects the rental market in a negative way, as many investor purchasers contribute to our rental supply. Considering that condominiums are the choice of most immigrants and Baker mainly represents pre-construction condos, foreign input is important. Without foreign investment, fewer projects will sell enough pre-construction units to get financing. The federal ban has done little-to-nothing to bring down home prices.

Simply put, we need foreign investment to help in the building of more new homes in Canada. I would like to see more developers, especially those in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec (where Baker has offices) take action to ask for reconsideration of the ban.