Vancouver condo rush sparks mass flipping frenzy

Vancouver

THE condominium market has turned red-hot in Vancouver, with agents saying local and offshore buyers are snapping up units that are not yet completed, even as a foreign buyer tax has sent detached home sales plunging.

Condo prices have escalated so quickly that some owners are flipping their units before construction is finished, a move that allows foreign buyers to capitalise on price gains without having to pay the province of British Columbia's 15 per cent levy implemented last year for Vancouver real estate transactions.