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Foreign Buyers Ban in BC Effective as of January 1st 2023


The Foreign Buyer Ban


The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act, also known as the “foreign buyer ban”, was first announced in April 2022 and took effect on January 1st, 2023. In effect, this legislation will restrict most foreigners from purchasing residential property in Canada for the next 2 years.



The following parties and properties will, however be exempt from the foreign buyer ban:

  • Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

  • International students who meet certain requirements, including having spent the bulk of the previous five years in Canada. They would be able to purchase a property for no more than $500,000.

  • Workers who have worked and filed tax returns in Canada for at least three out of the four years before purchasing a property.

  • Diplomats, consular staff and members of international organizations living in Canada.

  • Foreign nationals with temporary resident status, including people fleeing conflict and refugees.



Do note that buildings containing more than three dwelling units and recreational property — such as cottages, cabins and other vacation homes — will also be exempt, which means that commercial and multifamily properties are still available for purchase. 

 Non-Canadian-owned entities, such as corporations and foreign-controlled Canadian entities, will also be banned from buying residential property under the Act.

 
Best Regards
 
Tibor Bogdan
Century 21 Creekside Realty
 
P.S. If you want to chat, call me at 604 855 2521

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What is a pre-sale?

Example scenario: When the developer intends to build an apartment building and applies for financing, the bank will grant financing under certain conditions. One of them will likely be a certain percentage of pre-sales the developer will need to secure before receiving the funds.
It is common practice for a developer to approach several real estate investors and offer them an opportunity to purchase units of the non-existent building at a discounted price, and on good terms.

Once the number of pre-sales is accomplished, the developer goes ahead with the construction, which will likely take two years or longer to complete. During construction, their marketing team offers the remainder of the units for sale at market value to the public.

If you are a RE investor, you know that it is preferable to be buying at the pre-sale prices, not market value prices.

The question is, how do you get the invitation to buy a pre-sale?
In the past many years, investors have made substantial income by buying at wholesale prices and selling at retail prices even before they needed to complete their purchase. I saw many of them lining up and sometimes even camping overnight in front of the sales center to get a chance to buy at lower prices, but not everyone was lucky enough. You needed to be well-connected to get an opportunity, and you had to act fast.

Today is a bit of a different story. Several projects in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley offer really good prices and incentives to secure a unit now and complete the purchase two or three years later. The list of incentives varies from one project to the next. Besides attractive prices, you can get low deposit amounts (5-15%), low or no assignment fees, free updates, a mortgage rate buy-down program, extra parking and more.

A month ago, I helped a few of my clients purchase a presale in Surrey that sold out in 2 days, and I know of another good developer that will be offering a few units for sale as well.

If you would like to know more about these opportunities, I would encourage you to call or email me, and I’ll be happy to send you details on those projects.
 
Kind regards,
 
Tibor Bogdan
Century 21 Creekside Realty Ltd.
45428 Luckakuck Way #190, Chilliwack, BC V2R 3S9
cell: 604-855-2521
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