Quote:
Originally Posted by squiggs96
It's a very media driven, and provincial NDP government, point that the vast majority of investors are Chinese. There was an Andy Yan paper that discussed buyers in Vancouver. The media, and the NDP (mostly David Eby), took it to mean that all the buyers were Chinese, when that wasn't even close to what the paper said. Andy has even discussed this multiple times because of how the media portrayed his research.
I tried discussing it earlier in the thread that I had access to the purchaser lists of various buildings in Vancouver. My opinions were then dismissed because I worked for a developer and "had skin in the game". Without even going into the information I had, my data was already being dismissed. Because I had something different from the media, and these posters' positions, it was cast aside without thought.
It's much easier for the media, and the opposition government's housing critic, to group all foreign people into one nation. It's way quicker to say Chinese, rather than giving a breakdown. That way they have a stronger, albeit false, position. They ask for foreign buyer data, but don't like the results once they get it. They sensationalize buying houses, instead of focusing on ways to actually fix the problems. They produce statements such as the developers are all in Gregor's pockets. Without development, the supply remains flat. With a flat supply, the prices will inflate. You can't complain about the lack of housing and simultaneously complain that developers are building condos.
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I don't think anyone rationally thinks that the
entire problem is Chinese driven, however, (if I understand the Yan paper as reported), if 2/3 of foreign buyers are Chinese, and more importantly, "on paper are students and housewives", then I think it is fair to scrutinize those transactions to ensure that they are legitimate.
To put it differently, I take no issue with anyone, of any race or citizenship buying properties within the rules. My problem is if buyers are circumventing anti-laundering provisions, or are acting in a manner in contravention of tax laws. If that is an issue with American, British, Indian etc. investors, the Canadian government needs to take action against them as well.