... and even as your second home capital gains is taxed at a lower rate than income. Plus it can be deferred until you die! If your estate is big enough to be worth it you can form a trust and defer it forever.

That unpaid tax flows straight back into the housing market.

Ita the same in the US, except for windfall gains over $250K/person (x2 for married couples), a vanishingly small fraction of inventory.