In Canada each year, more than 250,000 immigrants become permanent residents and more than 150,000 foreign workers arrive here, according to lawyer Richard Bell. This number is expected to increase, Bell told more than 200 REALTORS® at a Westside area event on immigration trends on November 12, 2014.

This benefits BC’s economy. “Over the next 10 years, BC will have one million job openings. One-third are expected to be filled by immigrants who will come here and buy homes,” said Bell, a lawyer with Bell Alliance, a firm specializing in real estate, estate planning, business and immigration law.

Government Programs to help immigration

There are more than 60 government programs to bring immigrants to Canada, according to Bell, who highlighted the following major programs.

• January 2014: Parent sponsorship re-opening allowing for 5,000 parents to enter Canada annually.

• February 2014: Automatic Multiple Entry allows applications for visitor visas to be automatically considered for Multiple Entry Visas of up to 10 years or the length of passport.

• May 2014: Federal Skilled Worker Program re-opened allowing up to 25,000 workers in 50 occupations.

• November 2014: The Live-in Caregiver program is reformed so that caregivers are no longer required to live in. This program allows 5,500 caregivers to enter Canada each year.

• January 2, 2015: Express Entry Program: Economic Class applications become a two-stage Online Process where applicants are put into a pool of candidates. Those with valid job offers or in the BC Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) or eligible under the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Workers or Federal Skilled Trades will be eligible to apply for permanent residence. There is a shorter processing time of approximately six months.

Programs terminated this year include the Investor & Entrepreneur Streams, according to Richard Bell. As well, the age of dependents is now 19 years old instead of the previous 22 years

reports that a total of 5,972 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service®
(MLS®) in November, up 8.8 per cent from November 2013. Total sales dollar volume was $3.4
illion, an increase of 12.1 per cent compared to a year ago. The average MLS® residential price
in the province rose to $574,694, up 3.1 per cent from the same month last year.

“BC home sales were robust in November,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Improving economic conditions, strong consumer confidence and persistently low mortgage interest rates are providing a solid foundation for elevated consumer demand."

“Market conditions have improved province wide, with most regional markets now in the mid to high range of a balanced market,” added Muir.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was up 22.1 per cent to $44.8 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales were up 15.3 per cent to 78,973 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 6.0 per cent at $567,292.

Source: BCREA Dec 2014