Foreign buyers represented 5.1% of September's 640 real-estate transactions throughout Victoria and the Capital Region, according to statistics released by the provincial government.

 

The month also saw the highest-ever median single-family-dwelling price of $795,000 and an average of $884,196, a figure just a notch below June's $885,281 record.

 

Provincial data confirms real-estate activity by foreign nationals continues to remain relatively stable across the south Island, despite an increase from approximately 2% in 2015 to more than double that rate throughout 2016 and over the first half of 2017.

 

The provincial government continues to monitor Victoria’s housing market as Vancouver’s foreign buyers tax shows signs of losing its relevance amid escalating sales to non-residents.

 

Prior to the August, 2016 introduction of the BC Liberals’ 15% foreign buyers tax for Metro Vancouver’s 22 jurisdictions, approximately 13% of real-estate transactions were associated with non-residents. In its wake sales activity settled at approximately 3% of market share.

 

September, however, yielded the highest ratio of Metro Vancouver real-estate purchases by foreigners since the introduction of the tax with sales totalling 5%, or equal to the activity ratio on the south Island. Highest for foreign purchases were the municipalities of Richmond and Burnaby which saw 10.8% and 9.6% of transactions, respectively, associated to foreigners.

 

The NDP government has yet to decide whether to maintain the foreign buyers tax, whether to amend the tax regime, or if the tax should be repealed and replaced with alternate foreign buyer legislation directed at Metro Vancouver and centres such as Victoria.

 

Finance Minister Carole James, in a statement supplied to the Globe and Mail, confirmed that her government is “committed to overhauling its housing strategy in the spring budget.”

 

What that means for the province and Greater Victoria remains to be seen. C