Due to a new foreign homebuyers' tax, which will decrease purchase activity in Vancouver, the most populous city in the province, the city's high prices of real estate will be affected by a potential growth in unemployment among the local dwellers, Fitch Ratings announced on the 22nd of August, BNN.ca reports.
As a reference, Vancouver implemented a 15% tax on foreign home buyers to make housing more affordable for the locals. However, Fitch analysts indicated, that the market might have begun to cool even before the tax, that makes Vancouver home prices more vulnerable to potential changes.
According to Susan Hosterman, director of U.S. structured finance at Fitch Ratings, the foreign investors have been buttressing real estate in Vancouver, what prompted more demand and an increase in prices.
