BCBusiness

18 D a r c y M a t h e s o n B C B U S I N E S S . C A J U LY/A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 "We're not planning on selling. Compared to what happened with 9/11 and COVID, this isn't anywhere near as bad," says the retired sales rep from Delta who still speaks in the friendly but no-nonsense tones of her former career. "With COVID, the border was down for two years and we still had to pay." Now, she's prepared to ride out what she believes will be temporary wonkiness, and she doesn't anticipate any border problems. "I don't like what he's doing but we've got to put up with it for four years." The resort that she and her husband head for regularly in the non-winter months is filled with Canadians, somewhere in the 80- to 90-percent range, and she hasn't heard about anyone else leaving either. It's a place that B.C. residents have been going for generations, in the foothills near Mount Baker, where kids can run free all day long, swim, play field games or go horseback riding. Another local with no plans to leave is Bryn Davidson, a Vancouver builder with dual citizenship who bought into The Glen at Maple Falls, another vacation resort near Black Mountain, during the COVID years. He has noticed some own- ers speculating on the resort's internal Facebook page about selling, with a few saying they definitely will because of "the situation." As well, Canadian friends he has been inviting down to visit have been politely declined, saying they aren't crossing the border for the moment. But, like Tray- ers, he's not going anywhere. It's an ideal country-feeling place where he, his partner and son can have some space to roam around that isn't available in their Mount Pleasant condo. Realtors from just south of the border say they are not seeing a big exodus for the moment. That's in part because previous border traumas have already changed some patterns. "We experienced Canadi- ans selling during COVID specif- ically in areas that were second homes or vacation homes, and they had just started to venture back," said Christine Rasmus- sen, who specializes in the Blaine/Birch Bay/Bellingham area. (Interestingly, she is see- ing Chinese-American families buying in the area so they can selling off over the years for various reasons, says Wayne Lyle, a realtor and president of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce. COVID made their beach get- aways inaccessible for a couple of years. They went away to other B.C. places and then didn't come back. The Canadian dollar has de- clined so much that it's made everything more expensive. And age is a factor as well. They're getting older and their kids aren't as interested in using the property. Lyle has had some listings in recent months but, he says, "none of them have actually stated that it is because of the Canada/U.S. tensions." (Mind you, people are probably being wary. Several people I reached out to for this column declined to speak with me, not wanting to alienate American neighbours or clients or border guards with their opinions.) The more telling change for Lyle is that the buyers are now... American. He had three homes listed and all seven of- fers were from U.S. residents. "To have all seven offers by Americans is a bit of a shift." But it's a slow one, slower than the abrupt departure of Canadian visitors to the local coffee shop and parcel-service businesses, one of which just closed due to the loss of those users. It's the kind of shift that may be continuing at a moderate pace, depending on the coming years, as Canadians slowly but steadily disentangle themselves from the neighbour that used to seem so much like us. hop across to visit relatives in Canada and indulge in the offerings of the Asian shopping malls, restaurants and night market in Richmond.) In Point Roberts, it's a similar story. The point, that little chunk of America that is attached to Tsawwas- sen, has been 70 percent owned by Canadians for years. Ninety percent of the boats in the marina are owned by us Maple Leafers. There's been some slow STAYING PUT Many British Columbi ans who have property just south of the border in Point Roberts aren't considering selling their vacation homes just yet

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