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Alberta real estate agents are taking an arms wide-open approach to any foreign investment in the housing market coming this way as a consequence of British Columbia’s new real estate tax.

The 15-per-cent tax on property purchases by foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver came into effect Aug. 2 to placate concerns of people being priced out of the red-hot housing market in that city.

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It’s hard to pinpoint any spillover effects from the tax because of how recently it was implemented and because of the lack of authoritative data available, said Cliff Stevenson, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board.

“I think everybody’s speculating right now and I think they’re speculating with a positive outlook,” he said. “I would suggest we are going to see an increase in investment from foreign buyers.”

Anecdotally, there has been an increase in inquiries from buyers abroad, particularly from China, Stevenson said.