B.C. Housing Transparency Rules 'Another Crushing Blow' To Vancouver Luxury Market



It’s been over three years since anti-corruption organization Transparency International Canada sounded the alarm on the Canadian real estate market, characterizing it as a hotbed for organized crime.

TIC (Transparency International Canada) was focused on government handling of home ownership and transactional data, this is what the TIC claims is to be a very valuable tool in money laundering and tax evasion schemes. What was crazy to their findings is that the government records did not clearly identify the real owners of nearly half of Vancouver's most valuable properties.

“The true owners were hiding behind shell companies, trusts and nominee owners,” the group went on to write in a similarly scathing follow-up report published earlier this year titled “Opacity: Why Criminals Love Canadian Real Estate (And How to Fix It).”

Both of the reports ended up receiving a lot of attention from the media, general public, and even the elected leaders who have goals at hitting the criminal activity back in the province while also scoring points in the policy debate over affordable housing.

Several years after the extent of the issue came to light, the NDP government in British Columbia has taken policy action.

“The new amendments to the Business Corporations Act will require private businesses in B.C. to keep and maintain transparency records of beneficial owners, including individuals who have direct or indirect control of the company or its shares,” 

“Information collected includes full legal name, date of birth, citizenship and last known address.”

However, there will be market consequences to the ongoing campaign to stamp out criminal activity in the Vancouver housing market.

This move would most likely hit the Vancouver luxury housing market quite hard, as well with the fact that it is still dropping due to its peak from around three years ago. 

We all are aware that Vancouver's real estate market has definitely had a rough past three years in the luxury segment, in their report it is defined as a home which is valued at $3 million 

The overall market has been in recovery mode since the spring,

While the crackdown on criminal activity is undoubtedly the right move, one has to wonder how much lower the city’s luxury housing market can sink after “another crushing blow.”

If you would like to learn more about the Housing Transparency Rules, or if you are thinking about buying or selling your properties, please contact Matt Gul, who is a top luxury real estate agent situated in West Vancouver, who can help you with all of your needs. To contact Matt Gul please call him at 778.888.8888 or email him at matt@mattgul.com

Summarized by: Onur Gul on instagram at @onurgulfilm
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