[aspenmayer]

> There's no easy way to regulate who gets to buy houses and who doesn't.

I get what you’re saying, but didn’t Canada do just that? That’s not to say that it was easy, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.

Additional/secondary homes, and especially empty homes need to be taxed more to help disincentivize the anticompetitive behavior in the housing market that you mentioned.

[lhorie]

I think making it harder for foreigners to buy houses as appreciating assets has always been a talking point and I suppose it probably helps if the bar against foreign money is higher, but I see it more as a whack-a-mole game. The example of chinese kids buying property to park their parents' money comes to mind as a way that people get around regulations. It's relatively easy to get permanent residence and even citizenship compared to the time scales of real estate, combined with the "using family members to siphon money out of China" thing.

But you're right, I don't think there's going to be a single action that solves the problem fully on its own, so taking it one step at a time is a good approach.