The July announcement of British Columbia's 15 percent transfer tax on foreign buyers and entities representing them sent ripples through the Pacific Northwest's real estate market. Those ripples seem to be shifting the waves in Seattle's favor, however. In the following months many articles and blogs were released stating that Seattle has become the new Vancouver. The shift began immediately and Vancouver saw a year-over-year reduction in selling volume in the year 2016; and by year's end, the number of sales over $1 million CAD were 16 percent lower than 2015.