It appears the number of foreign nationals buying up property in Burnaby continues to decline since the beginning of the summer.
According to the latest real estate transaction numbers from the province, in October, 5.9 per cent of transactions (18 of 307) in Burnaby involved foreign nationals, representing 4.5 per cent of the value of all transactions.
October’s numbers are substantially lower than the first figures put out by the province in June and July, when 24 per cent of residential real estate transactions in Burnaby involved foreign nationals.
On Aug. 2, the provincial government brought in a 15 per cent foreign buyer property transfer tax in Metro Vancouver.
With several months of data on the books, the effect of the new foreign tax is starting to become a little clearer.
Between June 10 and Aug. 1, there were 262 transactions in Burnaby involving foreign buyers worth roughly $221 million.
In the two months that followed, there were just 10 transactions with a total worth a little shy of $15 million.
The cumulative total of transactions involving foreign buyers from June to the end of September in Burnaby was 12.9 per cent, with a value of $247 million.
Burnaby remains one of the more popular places for foreign buyers to buy property in Metro Vancouver.
In Vancouver, a total of 2.5 per cent of transactions in October were made by foreign nationals, while in Surrey it was just 0.9 per cent.
Only Richmond can compete with Burnaby. In Richmond, 6.7 per cent of transactions in October were made by foreign nationals, with a total since June of 12.8 per cent.
While there may be fewer foreign buyers in the market, it doesn’t mean people aren’t purchasing real estate.
The province’s numbers show, between June 10 and Aug. 1, there were 1,084 real estate transactions worth $915 million in Burnaby. In the three months that followed, there were 1,159 real estate transactions worth more than $950 million.
In a press release, the province noted the Finance Ministry has opened 215 audit files to investigate whether the correct amount of tax has been paid. It issued 30 assessments totalling $3 million.
