Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes until 2025

OTTAWA: A ban on foreigners buying residential property in Canada went into effect Sunday, aimed at making more homes available to residents facing a housing crisis.
Several exceptions in the law allow people such as refugees and permanent residents who are not citizens to buy homes.
At the end of December, Ottawa also clarified that the ban would only apply to dwellings in the city and not to recreational properties such as summer cottages.
The two-year temporary measure was proposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the 2021 election campaign, when soaring prices put homeownership out of reach for many Canadians.
“The lure of Canadian homes attracts profiteers, wealthy corporations and foreign investors,” his Liberal party said in its election campaign at the time.
“It leads to a real problem of underused and vacant homes, rampant speculation and skyrocketing prices. Homes are for people, not investors.”
Following their victory in the 2021 election, the Liberals quietly introduced the residential property purchase ban in Non-Canadians Act.
Major markets such as Vancouver and Toronto have also introduced taxes on non-residents and empty homes.
Despite a recent peak, the country’s housing market has cooled for sellers as mortgage rates followed the Bank of Canada’s aggressive monetary policy in an effort to contain inflation.
According to Canadian Real Estate Associationaverage home prices have fallen from a high of over C$800,000 (US$590,000) at the start of 2022 to just over C$630,000 (US$465,000) last month.
Many experts have also said that banning foreign buyers – who make up less than 5% of home owners in Canada, according to the national statistics agency – would not have the desired effect of making homes more affordable.
Rather, they point to the need to build more housing to meet demand.
the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – the national housing agency – said in a June report that almost 19 million housing units will be needed by 2030.
That means 5.8 million new homes need to be built, 3.5 million more than currently planned to meet that demand, he said.

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