It's been over a year since the previous BC government brought in the foreign buyers tax

Analysts think people are waiting to see what happens in the Vancouver real estate market before investing

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect correct information, after RE/MAX had advised us it had originally provided the wrong statistics.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – New figures show that even luxury buyers are holding off in one of the country’s biggest real estate markets — Vancouver. New research has found buyers are waiting and watching after the province implemented measures at cooling off the hot housing market.

Last fall, the BC government brought in a 15 per cent foreign buyers tax. A levy that would amount to about $300,000 in tax on the sale of a $2 million home.

RE/MAX figures now show that year-over-year sales of single-family detached properties with a price tag of $1 million or more slipped 32 per cent in Vancouver.

The agency’s Director Elton Ash says would-be buyers are waiting to see what happens to the market after government measures, like the foreign buyers’ tax, were introduced.

“The foreign buyer tax introduced last year—combined with a good selection of luxury single-family detached homes—reduced buyers’ sense of urgency in this segment of Vancouver’s market,” said Ash, who is Regional Executive Vice President with RE/MAX of Western Canada.

However, demand from “downsizing baby boomers”, foreign buyers and well-to-do younger couples has lead to an 11 per cent increase in luxury condo sales.

Meanwhile, luxury condo sales continued to grow in the Greater Toronto Area, increasing by 85 per cent between January and July this year.

Sales of Vancouver detached homes worth $1 million to $2 million compared to last year also rose 25 per cent year-over-year in the first seven months of 2017, according to revised figures from RE/MAX.