Vancouver Home Sales Break Record Despite Tax on Foreign Buyers
- Just under 44,000 homes traded hands in metro area last year
- Shoppers ‘shouldn’t expect home-price growth to relent’: board
Downtown Vancouver is seen past rows of single family homes in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Photographer: Jennifer Gauthier/BloombergVancouver home sales soared to a record in 2021 as the real estate frenzy induced by the pandemic overcame years of government policies to rein in the market, with deals regaining all ground lost since the efforts began.
Just shy of 44,000 homes traded hands in the metro Vancouver area last year, a 42% increase from 2020’s sales and almost 1,700 more than the previous record, according to figures released Wednesday by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. The last high, set in 2015, came just before authorities in both British Columbia and Vancouver put in place measures intended to cool the market, including taxes on foreign buyers and empty homes.