Over 11% of Vancouver condos have a non-resident owner, says new CMHC report
Over 11 percent of Vancouver condos have at least one non-resident as an owner, a number that jumps to more than 19 per cent when it comes to newer built condos.
The information is contained in a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation housing market insight report which also found that non-residents — defined as someone who doesn't have their principal residence in Canada — tend to own more expensive properties than residents, especially in Vancouver.
Some of the other findings:
7.2 per cent of all Vancouver properties have at least one non-resident owner.
Non-resident ownership is highest in the condo market where11.4 per cent of condos have at least one non-resident owner.
15.3 per cent of properties constructed in Vancouver in 2016-2017 have at least one non-resident owner, up from 11.2 per cent for those constructed between 2011 and 2015.
However, when the category narrows to condos constructed between 2016-2017 (as opposed to all housing categories), 19.2 per cent are owned by at least one non resident.
When comparing the median assessed values of properties, the differential in the value of a non-resident owned Vancouver condo is $96,000 more than a resident-owned condo.
"In general, non-resident ownership is more frequent in the newer and higher value residential properties," said Aled ab Iorwerth, CMHC's deputy chief economist.
Tom Davidoff, the director of UBC's Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate, says the report confirms what everyone already knows.
"It's clear that the flow rate of money from outside of Vancouver into Vancouver is fairly significant," he said. "Fancy, expensive properties owned by people who don't make their living here is a real thing."
The report uses data published by Statistics Canada in 2017 and is the first-of-its-kind annual data set published by CMHC on non-resident property ownership.
