Fall 2011, Vol. 36, No. 2

Abstract: No city on Earth’s residential real estate market has been more affected by a targeted and concentrated Asian investment, particularly that from China, than Vancouver, British Columbia.While only the perspective of time will define the consequences of this growing control over large segments of the region’s housing markets, its impact on affordability and the region’s overall economy is not positive. In this article, the author offers lessons learned for other regions seeking the quick fix of offshore investment, in particular those learned from the Vancouver experience. The circumstances that have made Vancouver the epicenter for Asian investment cannot be readily duplicated, and evidence increasingly signifies that they should not be.