here jobs were still available (for a while, at any rate).
While the purchase price of real estate and residential rental rates increased in the 1982 1983 time period, the actual stock of rental housing did not decrease. This phenomenon did occur in 1986, however, subsequent to the opening of Expo 86. For the duration of the world's fair, thousands of residential rental units were withdrawn from the market to be used as tem porary visitor housing. In this situation, the actual stock of residential rental housing decreased, and residential rental prices, once again, skyrocketed.
The contemporary real estate environment in the Vancouver metropolitan area contains the elements of each of the two earlier real estate crises of the decade of the eighties. Some 3factors associated with the contemporary real estate environ ment, however, cause it to be unique. These factors are (1) the Asian source of much of the capital being invested in Vancouver real estate in 1989, and (2) the outright destruction of rental housing, as opposed to a temporary diversion to alternate uses. It is these factors which are at the base of the public uproar over the contemporary real estate environ ment. Asian investment capital is also implicated in the destruction of rental housing; thus, the public focus on and criticism of Asian investors is understandable. While this public focus is understandable, however, the criticism is not altogether justified.
UNDERLYING CAUSES OF THE CONTEMPORARY REAL
ESTATE ENVIRONMENT IN VANCOUVER
Asian investment in Vancouver real estate is heavy because (1) the Asians have money to invest, (2) the investment oppor tunities in Vancouver real estate are attractive, and (3) the scheduled return of the political control of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic of China in 1997 has wealthy residents of thatBritish Crown Colony running scared, and the incidents sur rounding the student protest movement i...