RBC report mirrors Chinese expectations for Vancouver

Vancouver will prove to be just as attractive to wealthy Chinese as it was prior to last week’s new rules, RBC Economics says

In the wake of Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s announcement of new federal rules governing mortgages, a fresh RBC Economics report offered a silver lining around current developments, reflecting in many ways Chinese would-be buyers’ optimism towards Canada’s priciest city.
 
According to the report, once the market has adjusted to the regulatory changes, Vancouver will prove to be just as enticing to wealthy Chinese investors as it was before the announcement of the new rules.
 
“Vancouver offers a sought-after lifestyle and prestige for wealthy Chinese that only a handful of other international cities can boast,” the RBC report noted, as published by the South China Morning Post.
 
And while the 15 per cent foreign home buyers’ tax implemented on August has slowed down Vancouver sales, the impact on the luxury market of all these measures would be negligible.
 
“High net worth individuals are drawn to Vancouver for the same reasons as foreign investors, as well as other factors such as good schools, clean environment and the ‘global passport’ that Canadian citizenship offers,” the report added.
 
In a recent statement, RBC Capital Markets predicted that housing and consumer spending will together account for 1.1 per cent GDP growth next year. This is in contrast to the 1.7 per cent average over the past 24 months.

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