The law was passed because of a spike in Canadian home prices since the start of the pandemic – and some politicians’ beliefs that foreign buyers were responsible by snapping up supply of homes as investments.
“The desirability of Canadian homes is attracting profiteers, wealthy corporations, and foreign investors,” said the campaign website of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party this past year. “This is leading to a real problem of underused and vacant housing, rampant speculation, and skyrocketing prices. Homes are for people, not investors.”
The law provides exceptions for home purchases by immigrants and permanent residents of Canada who are not citizens.
But the steep rise in home prices in 2020 and 2021 was already reversed in 2022, well before the law took effect. Average home prices in Canada peaked just above $800,000 Canadian in February and have fallen steadily since then, dropping about 13% from that peak, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The Bank of Canada has been raising interest rates, resulting in higher mortgage rates in the country – just like in the United States and other countries that have been hiking rates.
CREA’s price index is still up 38% from the end of 2019, before the pandemic, but the group said that inventory of homes for sales has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
