[afarrell]

I've heard this about many cities, including Boston, London, and New York.

Do you have evidence that it is true in large numbers?

[twistedpair]

I've got a home in Boston. Zillow tells me it's appreciated 45% in several years. Since I (1) got a very low interest rate and (2) got a house in a hard to come by area and (3) would have to pay realtor fees to sell, why wouldn't I just rent it out when I decide to move somewhere else?

If other people keep doing that in their lifecycle (move further out when deciding to have kids), you end up with many homes as investments where the home owners have no intention to combat high housing prices, as that only leads to higher rents and more profits.

[afarrell]

If you rent it out, the home isn't empty.

[Scoundreller]

If you're trying to stash illegitimate money overseas, would you do it in your own name, or use a trustworthy local stand-in when available?

Secondly, even if the money is legitimate, Canada does not tax capital gains on residences that are your primary residence.

So if one wants to buy 5 homes, one could buy 1 yourself, and find stand-ins for the other 4. Or if one doesn't plan on living in any, 5 stand-ins.