[zaroth]

I think DD must be right, because there are funds like IYR (I don't know about Canadian equivalents) that would be a much less expensive way to get the same real estate market exposure, so the question is why isn't the money going there?

[aianus]

The Canadian government subsidizes home-ownership by not taxing the capital gains on a primary residence.

I know the article is about empty properties, but it's actually a lot more common to send your 18-year-old kid to study in Canada and wire him $1 million to buy a primary residence in his own name.

[zaroth]

So what you're saying is... the rich will aptly avoid this tax just like they do all the others, and the hapless hoi palloi who might have to leave their home vacant for 6 months (e.g. to care for a dying relative) would be stuck paying the fine. Sounds about right :-(

[krschultz]

You can get a mortgage on a physical residence but not a fund. You can buy insurance on a physical place but not a fund.

[aianus]

You can certainly get a "mortgage" on a stock portfolio. It's called trading on margin and the interest rates are even better.

But it's true you can't get quite as much leverage and the dividends and capital gains are not tax deductible like they are for your primary residence.

[kspaans]

Probably VRE. (Disclaimer: I own shares of VRE.)