If you live in Vancouver and happen to stumble onto the subject of real estate in conversation, chances are you’ll talk to someone who is worried about foreign investment overwhelming the city’s real estate market and making it nearly impossible for locals to even consider buying a home in Vancouver.
And if this is the type of conversation you find yourself taking part in, it wouldn’t surprise you to know that between April 2011 and June 2012, the Canada Border Services Agency seized nearly $13 million in cash in Vancouver and Toronto airports.
As Canadian laws stand, any cash over $10,000 must be declared at customs, and if it isn’t there is a fine between $500 and $5,000. The cash is confiscated until the fine is paid.
The Wall Street Journal reported that 59 per cent of these seizures are from Chinese citizens and that much of the cash is ending up in the Vancouver and Toronto condo markets.
The worries about foreign investment overwhelming the Canadian real estate is pervasive around the Lower Mainland and the trend is known as the “new reality.”
It’s important to remember that the country thrives with Canadian and foreign investments, but there must be a better balance to restore the ideas of home and condo ownership among Canadians.
