Except it's been this way for 30 years. Vancouver house prices have always been higher than Ontario, even back in the 80s when I lived there. So speculation is one thing, but 30 years isn't speculation. And back then they were saying it was foreigners too, especially from Hong Kong. But it's 30 years later, and the house prices haven't abated at all. That isn't speculation, that's a permanently high prices.
When my parents bought their house there it was $275,000 it was almost 75% higher than our house in Toronto. And they sold it for $1,300,000 a few years ago. Crazy, but it's only annualized 6% over 25 years, less than the stock market (but higher than normal real estate I'm assuming). However it's prime Vancouver real estate with fantastic schools, a case could be made that it's worth it if you compare to San Francisco.
The only difference is that no one knows where the money is coming from for the last 30 years. There is no industry in Vancouver, except tourism and the average salary is ~60k.
I mean, there's tech, professional trades, doctors, finance sector, real estate agents (lol), luxury services, etc.? That accounts for part of the money. How much? How did you determine it was insignificant, if I infer correctly from your post?
When my parents bought their house there it was $275,000 it was almost 75% higher than our house in Toronto. And they sold it for $1,300,000 a few years ago. Crazy, but it's only annualized 6% over 25 years, less than the stock market (but higher than normal real estate I'm assuming). However it's prime Vancouver real estate with fantastic schools, a case could be made that it's worth it if you compare to San Francisco.
The only difference is that no one knows where the money is coming from for the last 30 years. There is no industry in Vancouver, except tourism and the average salary is ~60k.