Canada To Immigrants: No House For You
The Story
The Canadian government has announced plans to ban immigrants from buying houses for the next two years.
Why?
The plan is part of the government’s response to soaring real estate property prices. The measure, which would be contained in Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget, is expected to help the country provide billions of dollars to spur construction activity in an attempt to halt the price surge in the country’s real-estate market.
How high have prices risen?
Real estate prices in Canada have soared more than 50% in the last two years, and have shown no signs of stabilizing soon. The ban is seen as a necessary move as increasing demand continues to drive the price hike. The market also saw a record monthly increase in February as buyers acted ahead of rate increases by the Bank of Canada.
Exemptions
The ban, which suggests the government’s growing concern about the political backlash to inflation and the rising cost of housing, will however, not apply to students, foreign workers or foreign citizens who are permanent residents of Canada, according to a source who prefers to not be named.
