On April 20, 2016, Victoria city council called on the province of British Columbia to implement a 15% foreign homebuyer tax for the region, similar to one installed in Metro Vancouver last year, to curb speculative property purchases by non-residents.

However, on April 29, 2017, the council dropped its bid to impose the tax. After hearing several presentations, the resolution failed on a 4-4 tie vote. Councillors Jeremy Loveday and Ben Isitt, who argued it made sense to bring in the tax in Victoria given the other two hot real estate markets — Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto. Both councillors say the city is facing a housing crisis, and with costs escalating, the dream of home ownership is getting out of people’s reach. They said a 15% tax on homes purchased by foreign buyers would have helped ensure prices remain affordable for local residents.

Voting against the motion were councillors Marianne Alto, Chris Coleman, Margaret Lucas and Geoff Young. Helps and councillors Pam Madoff, argued the province imposed the 15% property transfer tax on foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver last August. Home prices there fell after the tax came into force, but have started creeping up again. Mike Neugent from the Victoria Real Estate Board who spoke at a council meeting said, “The risk of implementing the tax may be greater than its potential desired outcome. The ongoing effect is the high-end market in Vancouver taking a hit … The implementation of the tax did nothing to improve the affordability of the portion of the market that really needed it.”