Should Seattle Tax Foreign Investors?

At hot topic in the Seattle Real Estate market is raising housing prices. Many people believe outside investors, with all cash offers, are driving up Seattle housing prices. It's no secret we have had a flood of foreign buyers, probably due to the recent Vancouver 15% tax on foreign buyers.

Some investors view purchasing an investment property in Seattle as just like buying a stock or other equity. So what's the problem? Unfortunately many of these units are being left vacant which further impacts supply/demand and helps drive prices even higher.

So, should Seattle add a new tax on foreign investors? We don't think so. There's no evidence that the added tax has helped bring real estate prices down and vacancy rates up in Vancouver. We can't expect the same treatment to have a different effect here in Seattle. Instead, we think foreign investors should have incentives and help in leasing their properties to the public, instead of leaving them vacant

. We think Proper Rent has the right set of programs that can make this a reality.