However, money laundering isn’t the only driver of that vibe. I just got the sense it was a lot of money from Hong Kong that flooded Vancouver. So no industry was needed to support the high housing prices, it was being supported from foreign money.
But again, that’s different than laundering money.
First lesson my tax attorney taught me. ;)
Very attractive for certain kind of wealthy people.
So even if a price rises for normal reasons that people tend to always mingle and drive prices even more.
It does not sound implausible that housing prices are soaring.
Also perhaps a lot of government regulation that make it difficult to build more housing.
And there are other sources of money besides "money laundering" - why assume of all sources, "money laundering" is the driving force?
Like lets say newly rich Chinese people appreciate the investment in Vancouver. Is that then "money laundering"? Do they just equate "foreign investors" with "money laundering"?
> next to the sea and the mountains
Next to the US is probably another big reason but I'm not sure how much that matters with planes.
https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/Hawaii-real-estate-mar...
Maybe the money comes from abroad, has this occurred to you?
> This article may offer little evidence, but it rings very true for people who live there.
It's a boogeyman used by politicians to have a set of "bad guys" to point to. The truth is most of those wealthy foreigners buying up Vancouver real estate are not money launderers, they're just wealthy foreigners.
Elsewhere. It can be surprising only when you look at it through an industrial, 20-century world view. Now, even middle class people are free to move and work wherever they like, so it's only natural that people who made a fortune would seek the most comfortable cities in first world countries and bring their wealth with them. Is there any specific reason to suspect that this wealth is laundered and not simply imported?