I don’t really know whether you have read the rest of what I wrote or just got triggered by me seemingly defending “foreigners” and hit the Reply button.
I don’t mean to single you out specifically, there other posts that seem oddly similar.
Anyway, I think there’s a big distinction between immigrants (who cease to be immigrants at some point, how many years does it take in your opinion by the way? Who is more worthy of being helped to buy a home - a immigrant who came to the country 30 years ago, or a natural-born 25 year-old citizen?… but I digress.) and investment real estate that requires an intervention.
Let’s say we put a huge tax on all real estate that isn’t a primary residence, I am all for making it super unprofitable to hold so that rents cannot cover the expense - to force all these REITs having to fire-sale their holdings to people who want to live in them.
There was a two year moratorium announced today, but there are several exemptions. Permanent residents, refugees, some international students on the path to PR, and people here on work permits are all exempt.
>Let’s say we put a huge tax on all real estate that isn’t a primary residence
Because cottages are a traditional part of life here and real estate is one of the only ways to make real money for someone with some capital in the middle class.
At what point cottages cease to be “way to make real money with some capital in the middle class” and we firmly enter the territory of “make a buck while fuck everyone else”? One or two is probably the former. 80,000 properties we all probably agree is the latter.