New Residents Boost Home Sales

New permanent residents could be driving $50 billion in home sales in Canada, despite a foreign buyer ban in place. The ban applies to foreign nationals, but those who become Canadian permanent residents are exempt and can buy homes like any other Canadian.

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada data, the top five source countries for new permanent residents in 2025 were India, the Philippines, Cameroon, China, and Nigeria. These countries contributed a total of 184,455 new permanent residents to Canada in 2025.

The author estimates that the combined spending on residential real estate by new permanent residents from these top five source countries could range from $31.2 billion to $50 billion. This estimate assumes each buyer purchases a home at the national average price of $677,000.

However, the actual home prices and propensity to purchase may differ among these nationalities. The data does not provide a clear picture of how many new permanent residents actually purchase homes in their first year of residency.

Chinese nationals made up 5.4% of all new permanent residents in 2025, with 21,115 individuals becoming Canadian permanent residents. In the first quarter of 2026, China’s share rose to 5.6%. Given their preference for real assets, it is plausible that Chinese nationals are among the most active buyers among new permanent residents.

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Before 2023, foreign buyers like those from China did not need permanent residency to buy in Canada, and they were more active in markets like Vancouver and Toronto. However, the data suggests that the actual role of offshore foreign buyers was smaller than the headlines suggested.

Statistics Canada reported that in 2020, non-residents of any nationality owned 2.2% of residential properties in Ontario, 2.9% in New Brunswick, 3.1% in British Columbia, and 3.6% in Nova Scotia. The buying by Chinese and other foreign permanent resident groups continues, but now it takes place after the buyer has obtained permanent residency.

As Canada continues to be an immigrant nation, buyers who hold permanent residency will inevitably play a role in the housing market. The key fact is that Canada is an immigrant nation, and new permanent residents will continue to drive demand for housing.

They will drive demand.