Will taxing foreign investors help property markets?

[Nicholas Wallwork]

Vancouver is the latest major city to impose a specific tax on foreign investors acquiring real estate. Many of those concerned about the spiralling cost of property in Vancouver, and other areas of Canada, have reacted with joy to the move. Even though these particular policies may curry favour with the electorate what will they

Click to Read The Full Story and Add your Own Comments to Continue reading...

 

[lookinginvest]

This seems to be yet another way of penalising a buoyant property market to shore up damaged government balance sheets around the world. At some point foreign investors will switch to other markets if the barrier/cost to entry is too high.

 

[aurelie]

Foreign investment depends on many things.
Exchange rate e.g.
The euro gets stronger now every day - this is a huge discount for Europeans to buy property..
And I think, this is just the beginning of the price dropping in London.
Yes, London will always be - London.

Vancouver, I don't know. It's collapsing.

 

[lookinginvest]

The main issue I have with taxing foreign investors in the good times is what about those times in the future when prices are under pressure and foreign investment would normally have held up some markets? We saw something similar in some areas of the UK where local councils stopped those from other regions in the country from acquiring second homes. Will they regret this when the next property downturn hits home?