Two Vancouver real estate companies are travelling with B.C. Premier Christy Clark on a trade mission to Asia, a move critics say provides “bad optics” amid Vancouver’s red-hot housing market.
Clark has been in Asia since May 24, as part of a trip intended to promote B.C. liquefied natural gas, clean energy and green technology industries—not real estate.
But realtors Nu Stream and Sutton West Coast are also part of the trade delegation, a move critics say will encourage increased foreign investment in the city and contribute to the surge in housing prices that has already left many locals out.
“It sure looks to me like (Clark is) aiding and abetting major real estate companies to draw in even more foreign investment to drive up housing prices in Vancouver even further,” NDP MLA George Heyman told CTV Vancouver.
B.C.’s Ministry of International Trade, however, said the purpose of the trip is to reaffirm trade relations with Japan and Korea, and open up new markets in the Philippines.
Any company interested in joining a trade mission can apply to be a delegate. Even if approved, companies must pay their own travel expenses. The ministry said more than 60 companies are taking part in the trade mission.
“Individuals in the (real estate) industry may have an interest in connecting with foreign companies that intend to establish a presence in Vancouver,” the ministry said in a statement to CTV Vancouver. “We would invite you to contact the individuals involved to obtain their specific reasons for participation.”
But experts say the reason is obvious.
“If (real estate companies) were selling to locals, I don’t think they’d want to be spending money trying to sell our real estate in the Philippines,” said University of British Columbia Professor Tom Davidoff, who serves as director of the university’s Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate.
While the presence of real estate firms in the trade delegation is not breaking any rules, Davidoff said it is a case of “bad optics” for the B.C. government at a time when so many are already concerned about the Vancouver housing market.
“I think this really does invite the question for the province: If foreign demand is not an important driver of the local real estate market, why are realtors going overseas to look for buyers, and why is the premier inviting them along?” Davidoff said.
The average price of a detached home in Vancouver has gone up more than 30 per cent in the last year to a whopping $1.4 million, making it the third most unaffordable housing market in the world.
In recent months, many locals have called on the provincial and federal governments to place restrictions on foreign investors to help bring down prices.
With a report from CTV Vancouver
