StatsCan says 3 in 10 N.S. home buyers are investors [Video]

Statistics Canada says investors represented three in 10 residential property buyers in Nova Scotia between 2018 and 2020 — the highest volume of such buyers among provinces where data is available.

The data, published by the federal statistics agency on Dec. 3, tracks the number of investment buyers in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia over three years.

Nova Scotia had the highest volume of investor buyers of residential property in that time, with an average of 28.2 per cent.

In neighbouring New Brunswick, investor buyers averaged 20.3 per cent in the same period, and in B.C. they averaged 24.8 per cent.

Statistics Canada defines real estate investors as buyers of at least one residential property that is not used as their primary residence.

In rural areas, investors represented 37 per cent of buyers in Nova Scotia and 34 per cent in B.C. The report attributed this to buyers being drawn to …