Canada to ban most foreigners from buying homes for two years to cool prices in warning shot to Chinese, Indian immigrants
- A two-year ban is being proposed in Canada’s latest budget measures as Ottawa seeks to contain housing inflation
- Home prices soared more than 50 per cent over the past two years, with record monthly gain in February
The measures was unveiled by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in the national budget on Thursday. The ban, however, will not apply to students, foreign workers or permanent residents, according to Bloomberg, which reported about the ban before the announcement.
“Lack of supply is the culprit. Construction works on new housing units have slowed during the past two years due to the pandemic,” said Alisha Ma, founder and managing director of Halcyon Counsel, an immigration consultancy in Hong Kong. “Returning Canadians and emigration from Hong Kong” will compound the problem, she added.
Home prices in Canada have soared more than 50 per cent over the past two years. The market saw a record monthly increase in February as buyers acted ahead of rate increases by the Bank of Canada, taking the benchmark price of a home to C$869,300 (US$692,407).