If taxing foreign buyers affects demand for homes in some cities, where might that demand migrate to?
housing prices
In some major metropolitan areas in Canada, housing supply is not keeping up with demand.
Long and uncertain approval timelines for building permits are helping slow growth of housing stock in Vancouver.
Reforming the minutiae of the building permit process might not seem exciting, but it can encourage homebuilding and affect prices.
Fortunately, municipalities control many of the factors that determine housing supply growth.
Housing tends to be less scarce, and less expensive, in markets where homebuilders are less constrained by geography or regulations.
The Bank of Canada and other central banks around the world have artificially lowered interest rates, making investment and risk-taking much cheaper.
As rising housing costs in Metro Vancouver continue to make headlines, municipal policy-makers, including Vancouver’s mayor, point to a number of potential causes.