Ghost buyers skewed cost of property in Vancouver

It was good to see coverage given to anti-Asian hate crime rising in Vancouver (Spotlight, 28 May). I’ll wager I’m not the only non-Asian reader who thinks the problem is far worse than is reported.

But I take exception to the assertion there is little evidence that implicates Asians in the surge in housing prices in Vancouver. There was an article in Mother Jones in 2017 about the impact multi-millionaires from China were having on the surging real-estate prices in Vancouver. Prices took a real increase once these buyers started putting their dollars into condos. Millionaire “ghost-buyers” are the main reason behind the price surging. I’m willing to bet the vast majority of Asian residents of Vancouver are not among them.

David Bean

Saint Paul, Minnesota, US