Non-resident condo ownership remains low: CMHC

Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Halifax, Victoria and Gatineau have non-resident ownership shares above 1% of the condominium apartment stock.

By Staff | December 19, 2017 | Last updated on December 19, 2017

2 min read

The share of condominium apartments owned by non-residents remains low in the Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) surveyed by CMHC, with the majority reporting shares of less than 1%.

“The lack of growth in Toronto and Vancouver, combined with the increases in Montréal, indicate the possibility of a shift from these centres after the introduction of foreign buyers’ taxes in Ontario and British Columbia,” notes Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC, in a release. “Other factors attracting demand to Montréal include lower housing prices and a relatively strong economy.”

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He adds, “It should be noted that foreign ownership is just one of the factors influencing Canada’s housing markets. Other important factors include housing and land supply constraints as well as the economic and demographic fundamentals that drive housing demand.”

Here are some key findings from CMHC.

Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Halifax, Victoria and Gatineau have non-resident ownership shares above 1% of the condominium apartment stock.
Montréal saw an increase in the share of non-resident ownership of condominium apartments, rising from 1.1% in 2016 to 1.7% in 2017.
Non-residents owned 3.4% of all residential properties in Toronto and 4.8% of residential properties in Vancouver.
Downtown Montréal and Nun’s Island reported the largest increase in the share of non-resident condo owners, from 4.3% in 2016 to 7.6% in 2017, followed by Montréal Island (from 1.7% to 2.7%) and West Island (from 0.9% to 1.5%).
In Toronto, the larger buildings registered a non-resident ownership share of 4.2%, compared to the overall share of 2.5%; Vancouver registered a share of 3.3% in larger buildings versus the overall share of 2.2%; and Montréal registered a larger-building share of 3.7% versus the overall share of 1.7%.