While the residential housing market cools in the western city of Vancouver, commercial property sales have jumped. The Remax real estate company reports that 1,464 commercial properties sold in the first half of 2016 compared to 1,138 in the same period last year. The dollar value of the sales increased 94 per cent in 2016.
Foreign demand expected to increase
The value of office and retail property markets increased more than 190 per cent at the same time. Remax attributes the increased demand to low interest rates. It says most investors are local, but says the weak Canadian dollar is driving demand from Asian and U.S. investors.
Remax adds that foreign demand for commercial property in Greater Vancouver could increase further. A 15 per cent tax was recently imposed on foreign buyers of residential properties and the company says that could impel foreign investors to switch to buying commercial properties.
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