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CMHC reports non-residents own 5.2 per cent of Greater Victoria homes

Non-residents tend to own newer and more expensive homes in Greater Victoria
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CMHC report identifies properties where there is at least one non-residential owner. (File Photo)

Non-residents are reported as owners of 5.2 per cent of Greater Victoria dwellings, according to Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC).

For properties bought in 2016 and 2017, the number of non-resident participation jumps to 11.6 per cent.

Overall, the report shows that non-residents in metro Victoria tend to be involved in ownership of newer properties with higher property values.

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In Greater Victoria, 11.6 per cent of properties sold between 2016 and 2017 have had non-resident participation.

Among non-resident owned, single-detached houses of all ages in Greater Victoria, 35 per cent were based in District of Saanich, 14 per cent were in Victoria and 10.5 per cent were in Oak Bay, accounting for over half of all non-residential properties.

Non-resident properties in North Saanich are worth $338,000 more than resident-owned property, the highest differential in the region. View Royal, at -$49,000, had the lowest. Langford made up 8.9 per cent of non-resident ownership of single-detached homes and had a positive value differential of $2,000.

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In the District of Saanich, 14.6 per cent of new condos are owned by non-residents, said Eric Bond, market analyst at CMHC and one of the study’s lead authors. Among condos of all ages, 7.8 per cent of all condos of all ages in District of Saanich have non-resident participation, driving the result for the region.

For Langford, 4.5 per cent of condos are owned entirely by non-residents and 2.8 per cent have a mix of resident and non-resident owners.

One of the study’s major findings is that non-residents tend to own properties of a higher assessment value and more condominiums, Bond said. Non-resident participation in ownership of condos of all ages in Greater Victoria is at 7.8 per cent. The figure dips slightly to 7.3 per cent for Langford.

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A non-resident is someone whose primary dwelling is outside of Canada, which includes Canadians living abroad.

Greater Victoria’s 5.2 per cent figure for non-resident property owners is lower than the provincial average of 6.2 per cent, which is driven by metro Vancouver, at 7.6 per cent.

The first-of-its-kind report on Greater Victoria intends to provide buyers, “the government and policy makers concrete data and evidence upon which to base their discussions of the phenomenon,” Bond said.

swikar.oli@goldstreamgazette.com


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