BC Business
CondomaniaForeign ownership of Vancouver area condos is up slightly, according to a survey published Thursday by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation: 5.4 per cent of units in the City of Vancouver are owned by foreign buyers, or to be more specific, owners whose primary residence is outside of Canada. That’s, unsurprisingly, the highest percentage out of the 16 metropolitan areas tracked by the CMHC—but all figures are considered by the corporation to be low, according to Felicia Mutheardy, senior economist at the CMHC.
Vancouver’s rate of foreign ownership is up two points from 3.4 per cent in last year’s study. Meanwhile, 3.4 per cent of units in suburban Vancouver and 0.9 per cent in the outer reaches of the region (White Rock, Langley) are owned by foreign buyers. The rate of foreign ownership in Victoria is 1.0 per cent, down from 1.1 per cent last year.
The CMHC, which has tracked foreign ownership since 2006, relies on a phone survey of property managers and strata boards to determine its numbers. And based on recent controversy over the ownership of single detached homes, the corporation is set to expand the scope of its survey. “Foreign buyers may account for a substantial portion of the demand for pricier, luxury single-family homes,” writes Mutheardy, citing figures from Sotheby’s and research from planner Andy Yan. The CMHC is currently developing a methodology to track ownership, she says.
Economic impactSales of B.C. wine labelled VQA are at an all-time high, up nine per cent over 2014. And 30 per cent of that wine is being sold direct from the cellar door—a result of a push to turn the Okanagan into a wine tourism destination, according to the B.C. Wine Institute. B.C. VQA wines, those made from grapes grown entirely in B.C., account for around 20 per cent of all wine sales in the province.
“Wine tourism is still relatively new in British Columbia, though more and more people are expressing an interest in it, evidenced by many of B.C.’s wineries expanding their guest experiences to include more than simply wine tasting,” said Maggie Anderson, marketing director for the British Columbia Wine Institute, in a statement. Around 85 per cent of B.C.’s 320 wineries sell wine at the gate, or offer tasting or tours, and about 13 per cent of them have on-site restaurants.
An investor’s dreamVancouver house for sale, lot value only, for $4.5 million. The lot is one by nine inches. The house will be demolished January 1, and baking sheet is not included. Craigslist has become a regular wellspring for parodies of the city’s increasingly ludicrous housing market, and now add to that list a festive edition. Late Wednesday someone posted a Craigslist ad for a multimillion-dollar gingerbread home (predecorated!), and it’s been making the rounds online soliciting the housing anxious and wisecracks alike. Oh, and serious buyers only.