Canadians snapping up US properties!
Which foreign buyers are snapping up record amounts of U.S. real estate? Surprise, it’s Canadians
Fuelled by domestic prices, Canadians bought record amounts of residential property in the U.S. over a 12-month period
They are a group of foreign buyers who took out record levels of currency from their country in the past year to buy residential property in the U.S., though only a minority plans to take up permanent residence. The buyers? Well, they might not be who you think.
Canadians bought a record US$19 billion worth of property in the United States last year, surpassed only by the Chinese who purchased US$31.7 billion, according to a report out Wednesday from the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Realtors (NAR).
But few south of the border seem to care about the influx of foreign buyers from the north.
“Well, perhaps they will start thinking about it in some hot markets,” joked Doug Porter, chief economist with the Bank of Montreal about some type of foreign tax on Canadians, mentioning an article he recently read about affordability issues in California.
