The federal government ban on non-Canadians buying homes was supposed to make buying a home more affordable. However, the wording of the ban is having an unintended impact. For example, residential property, including land zoned for residential use, cannot be purchased by foreign buyers. This includes land zoned as mixed use land, which is blocking commercial deals as well.
Any company with more than 3% foreign ownership is considered a foreign buyer. Although the ban does exclude companies listed on a Canadian stock exchange, it does not exclude real estate investment trusts (REITs) which are responsible for developing a large portion of new residential properties.
