Allegation local banks favor foreigners as student flips property for $1.16 M profi

Researchers for NDP housing critic David Eby have turned up property documents that
show a home-buyer, listed as a student, bought a Point Grey property and within a year
flipped it for a $1.16 million profit. In other cases, Eby said, buyers listed as
students secured mortgages on $40 million worth of real estate purchases in the expensive west-side neighbourhood with no indication
of whether they reported income to support those loans. the Globe and Mail published Wednesday that uncovered internal documents showing
where banks allowed foreign clients to take out mortgages without having to verify
income, Eby said the information raises questions about how offshore buyers are
influencing metro Vancouver real estate markets. “Is Canadian banking policy enabling
foreign students to flip houses in Point Grey?,” Eby said. “I think this issue of bank
lending is a huge part of the problem in terms of rapidly inflating house prices.”
Eby, who is also the MLA for Vancouver- Point Grey released the documents
Wednesday at a news conference where he called on the province to step up its oversight
of real estate transactions when it comes to buyers proving the sources of funds for
property purchases. Eby said the research on property titles
was an extension of work the NDP caucus had done last fall in conjunction with urban
planner Andy Yan, which showed that in a snapshot of purchases made in 2015, 38 per
cent listed the buyers as being homemakers, house wives or students.