Toronto real estate tax could fail to hit mark, analyst says

A protectionist move by officials in Ontario seeks to deal with high housing demand and a potential real estate bubble, but analyst Priti Agarwal believes the controversial step is only a band-aid.

“Residential property prices in Toronto have been gushing upwards driven by low inventory levels, low interest rates and increasing population of immigrants,” Agarwal, an analyst at global research firm Aranca, told Toronto Business Daily. “The government of the province of Ontario announced certain measures to battle this price bubble, which includes a 15 per cent transfer tax imposed on foreign buyers. This is targeted at non-Canadian citizens and corporations purchasing residential properties containing one to six units in the greater Toronto area.”