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Foreign buyers' tax is working says Ontario government
9/15/2017 | Posted in Ontario Real Estate by Paul DeAdder | Back to Main Blog Page
The number of non-resident owners of real estate in The Greater Golden Horseshoe has declined since the introduction of Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan in the spring.
Ontario’s Ministry of Finance says that new data shows that the share of homes bought by those who are not citizens, permanent residents of Canada, or foreign corporations, was down by 1.5% in the period from May 27 to August 18, 2017 compared to April 24 to May 26, 2017.
That means that 3.2% of 66,434 transactions in the GGH involved at least one foreign entity, down from 4.7% in the previous period. In the whole of Ontario, 2.6% of 101,698 transactions involved a foreign individual or corporation while Toronto’s share was 5.6%, down from 7.2% before the FHP was implemented.
“The measures that we introduced as a part of the Fair Housing Plan are working—we are seeing increased housing supply and evidence that more people are finding affordable homes. Ontario continues to be a place that welcomes all new residents, drawn by its rising employment and strong economy,” commented Ontario’s finance minister Charles Sousa.
