Falling loonie fueling foreign interest in Vancouver real estate, say industry experts

Don't expect the economic head winds slowing Canada's economy to have the same effect on Vancouver's real estate market.

That was the message from a panel of developers at the Urban Development Institute's sold out industry event yesterday.

Jon Stovell, the president of Reliance Properties told the crowd the free falling loonie has made the city even more enticing to foreign buyers, and there is no forecasting where it will end.
 
"Our market's gone down a rabbit hole, you know. Up is down, down is up and the clocks are running backward … We're seeing records surpassed every day," said Stovell.

Investors are coming from all around the world to take advantage of the falling exchange rates, says Stovell, who cites the example of a German billionaire who was recently in town looking to buy a downtown Vancouver tower.

"Anybody who's got a lot of money to invest is probably working with a fair degree of American dollars," he said.

Other members of the panel highlighted the relative stability of Canadian real estate values when compared with more volatile investments such as stocks.

But it is not just investors putting pressure on prices. Stovell says more and more people want to move to Vancouver to live or vacation.
    
"People from Alberta are moving back here, and Americans are seeing Vancouver again. so it's really in the spotlight right now."

All that extra attention is bound to keep pushing prices skyward, he says.