Politics and real estate have long been uneasy — if familiar — bedfellows. The established co-relation between home ownership and political engagement means the hyper-focus on housing in the current federal election campaign is no surprise. But, while it is beneficial that the current housing supply crisis is being acknowledged at the very top of the political heap, dusting off demand-side tactics to address a supply-side problem is a questionable approach. Not only that, but the related rhetoric has recently veered into problematic territory by incorrectly tagging foreign investors as scapegoats for the issue.

The most obvious target of the proposed ban on foreign real estate investors is the domestic condo market. As the preeminent pre-construction condo marketing firm in Canada, Baker Real Estate has amassed considerable data as part of our strict compliance with federal FINTRAC regulations. And hard facts and figures from a number of sources are critical context for any discussion of the proposed measures.

A recent report completed by our Baker Insights Group, showed that foreign buyers represented less than 5% of our 5,000-plus sales in 2020. In other words, foreign buyers account for less than one of every 20 of our sales in Toronto and Montreal.

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