Vancouver’s housing prices are actually the same, if not more expensive than the most expensive neighborhoods in San Francisco and Silicon Valley (we don’t talk about that a whole lot because they’re in a different country, and the economics at play in Vancouver aren’t necessarily the same economics driving US West Coast housing prices). The average house price in Vancouver in May 2016 set a new record at $1.51 MILLION Canadian Dollars. That was up 36.9% year over year. If you already own a home you love the appreciation. However, there is no quicker way to increase the socio-economic gaps between classes than to have a housing market increase this rapidly. To put a lid on demand, Vancouver initiated a 15% tax on foreign buyers. One of the biggest reasons for Vancouver’s housing appreciation has been the influx of Chinese money. But with a new tax in Vancouver deterring those buyers in order to slow down the rate of appreciation, those buyers are now taking a closer look at Seattle. According to Juwai.com, searches by Chinese home seekers in Seattle have more than doubled since Vancouver initiated their tax. Searches in Vancouver by Chinese home seekers have been cut in half.
Demand for Seattle real estate just increased thanks to our neighbors to the north. This is going to help drive Seattle housing prices even higher in 2017.
Read the full story of what’s going on here: http://www.seattletimes.com/
Happy Investing!
Today's blog courtesy of Kyle Bergquist, Guild Mortgage
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