Strong support for tax on vacant homes: poll
As debate over skyrocketing home prices and foreign investment boils over in B.C., a new poll by Insights West shows 80 per cent of British Columbians support a tax on absentee owners.
For the first time, Insights West has measured anger directed at B.C. politicians over housing costs. All three levels of government got scathing reviews in the poll. The provincial government was hit hardest, with 76 per cent of British Columbians expressing dissatisfaction with the Liberals’ inaction.
Insights West pollster Mario Canseco said public support for taxing vacant homes in B.C. has climbed steadily from 72 per cent in 2014. Support is broad, Canseco said, with all generations, ethnic groups and income levels backing an absentee tax.
“It is very rare to get a number as high as 80 per cent, and it is very rare to get three generations and people from all income levels to agree,” Canseco said.
The poll comes as average single-family home prices in Vancouver have seen price jumps of about 40 per cent over the past year. A ripple effect now is pouring across the region, with suburban areas such as Tsawwassen seeing benchmark prices jump as much as 48 per cent year over year. Soaring prices in Victoria have also been linked to Vancouver’s hot real estate market.
A growing consensus of experts point to a surge of money from China as one of the forces driving housing price gains in Vancouver.
Canseco noted that his poll “really takes away from the notion you are targeting a specific group for race, because you are only targeting investors because of their absence.”
Support for the absentee tax peaks with millennials, ages 18 to 34, at 89 per cent. Voters ages 55 and over show 75 per cent support for the tax. The crossgenerational agreement also applies to views of politicians.
“Anger is widespread, voters are upset with all levels [of government], and most of all Victoria,” Canseco said. “It is inaction that is leading to more cynicism against the provincial government, which is understandable given the cosy nature they have with developers, including their chief fundraiser, [condo marketer] Bob Rennie.”
In a widely reported speech this week, Rennie said that Vancouver should “get out of the affordable ownership business” — and that investment from China should not be tampered with, and foreign investors should not be taxed.
In Metro Vancouver, 82 per cent support the absentee owner tax, Canseco said.
After playing down concerns about investment from Mainland China as “ridiculous” in 2013, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson last week said that because of “unregulated, speculative global capital flowing into Metro Vancouver’s real estate, we are seeing housing prices completely disconnected from local incomes.”
Robertson told Bloomberg News that his government is considering a number of measures, including a vacant home tax.
Vancouver millennial Eveline Xia, who several years ago launched “dont have one million” — a popular social media campaign criticizing unaffordability driven by offshore investment — said she is gratified that politicians like Robertson have adopted the protest’s message.
“There has been an awakening that housing affordability is a global issue and we need to address global capital’s role in Vancouver,” Xia said.
“We are behind other cities like Sydney and London, on taking action.”