[snrplfth]

The logic is that zoning makes for a housing shortage, which means it's profitable simply to hold on to properties without renting them, because the rent would be such a small portion of the investment gains. If supply increased, and moderated the price increases, then people would rent out more because they wouldn't be seeing huge year-on-year home value increases.

[andkon]

That's definitely an alternative response. Here, we've decided that we should instead cut investors' demand of housing, rather than increasing supply proportionately in response to investor demand. Like raldi says above, it's an approach that's a little more sensitive to the fact that we have to live in the hollow feeling city that an investor class can make.

[snrplfth]

I understand the response, certainly. But I don't think it's going to make housing (rental or ownership) substantially more available or cheaper in Vancouver - it'll just shuffle a few people around. And rich people don't just evaporate because you limit housing supply; they can arbitrage their way around most of these limits pretty easily.