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user-inactivated  ·  2405 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Canada's Housing Bubble Will Burst

    They aren't dumb questions: they get to the underpinnings of society. "how much should we discourage foreign ownership of domestic real estate" is fuckin' thinktank-level shit.

Do the investors live there? Do they contribute to the local culture in a productive manner? Do they contribute to the local economy in a productive manner? Are people who already live in or desire to live in those communities and contribute able absorb the costs of raised housing prices without much detriment?

If the answer to more than two of those questions is a solid "no" I think there should be heavy talks of discouragement. First and foremost, housing is literally a life necessity. If someone's investing is disrupting other people's abilities to live their lives, they need to take a good hard look at their behavior. Before it's brought up, yes I have the same opinion about house flipping and buying up properties with the sole intention of turning them around to rent to others for significantly more than what they could have paid to own said property themselves.