Last year, Canada issued 1,600 visas to Chinese investors planning to move to British Columbia to raise their families in the west. Now, those investors are snapping up Vancouver real estate and driving up property prices[1]. These investors may split their time between North America and Asia, but they want their kids to “integrate fully into the world, into an international lifestyle,” as one puts it. Part of that integration involves going to school in the west and, in many cases, moving into multimillion-dollar mansions in order to do so. In Vancouver, prices have jumped 13 percent since 2010 and have skyrocketed 54 percent since 2008. Canadian analysts believe that one reason Vancouver is so attractive to Chinese investors is that investors in China are restricted by the government to buying no more than two properties in the country. However, real estate is such an attractive investment that many are willing to take their money abroad rather than limit their portfolios. And if they happen to be able to buy – and profit by buying – in one of the best-ranked places for quality of life in the world, so much the better.
Do you think that the U.S. should be courting Chinese investors?
Thank you for reading the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter!
Your comments and questions are welcomed below.
[1]http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iRmZKMxKuZNKzUeOD2vaG2ZtB0uw?docId=CNG.6ab865f108c0ef8cf298cb5482c5fa7c.1e1
The biggest difference between Canadian realestate and the US is that they don’t rely on artificial tax gimmickry (like the MID) to prop up their market. It’s REAL. The market in the US is so fake, so heavilly reliant on government subsidy, that foreign investors know if the support was ever removed, and the market had to stand on its own feet, prices would crash. And btw, no Canadian would ever try to weasel out of a foreclosure on some paperwork technicality. They’s take their medicine.
13%, you say? Vancouver, huh? Hmmmm…
Canada is a beautiful country with plenty of mountains, rivers, lakes, streams and land for everyone to enjoy. However, what keeps immigrants coming to Canada is the medical program offered and the chance to own some of the world’s most beautiful real estate. They want to own their own dream home and some of the finest cities such as Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Alberta and Toronto offers exclusive access to prime real estate. At this very moment the Canadian real estate avenues are offering some juicy housing and luxury properties. So why the wait then? The housing prices are a bit steep for those who are cash strapped and after the bailout from the Chinese during the cool down economy. Many foreign investors are tapped out for disposable cash.