Searches for Vancouver Homes in China Jumped by 80% Last Summer

The amount of searched for home in Vancouver from China decreased by about a fraction of what it was last year.

Vancouver has seen a decline of 40 per cent in its home sales in the recent months of this year 2017 and the winter of 2016. Most economists and realtors in Canada believe that this due to the fact that most Chinese people that were interested in houses in Vancouver or living in Vancouver have lost a lot of interest. They also believe that this is the reason for the decline of money in the market by 50 per cent.

Information from sources shows that about the same time that the interest rate fell in the city of Vancouver, it also fell in other Canadian cities such as Toronto and Montreal. However, some people believe that this lack of searches did not necessarily result in the equal increasing of some sales activity. This belief made most economists and realtors believe that the reason for the decline in interest is majorly due to British Columbia’s implementation of its 15 per cent foreign buyer tax.

Research shows that during the first month (August) when the foreign buyer tax was implemented, searches from China from Vancouver Real Estate fell down a percentage of 78 per cent compared to the year before. However, the interest for home in the price range of $1 million and above had fallen approximately by a percentage of about 22 per cent, in the spring of 2016 which was before the foreign buyers tax was implemented or announced.

A view from the other side shows observers saying that the suppression on the discharges on foreign cash in China (which started last year 2016 and became stronger this year) was another reason for the decline in interest and in Vancouver home. In January, citizens of China who wished to change the currency had to sign a declaration that stopped them from using the money -which they wished to exchange- to buy real estate.