Frothy Vancouver housing market fueled by money from China (Vanc. Sun, 1-Jun-2011)

“Chinese are parking money in Canadian land like a bank”
(Allan Dowd, Reuters, 1-Jun-2011). Full article is here. As Vancouver discusses many critical issues relating to housing (homelessness, affordability, density, etc…. for example, see Talk Housing With Us), everyone should be asking anew what are the major factors that affect housing affordability TODAY in our city. Does foreign involvement in Vancouver real estate affect housing affordability, and what would wise policy makers do about it? What are good examples from other cities and countries to deal with the impacts of speculation and foreign investment? Bullet points of the article are below.