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What good could possibly come out of speculation in housing markets?

If you guessed Paris, you guessed right.

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The dominant discourse in Canada right now holds a pejorative view of speculation in property markets.

Foreign and local investors are dubbed as speculators and are held partially or wholly responsible for the worsening of affordability, especially in and around Vancouver and Toronto.

Even the governments are convinced of speculation is bad. Ontario, for instance, introduced a new tax last year and branded it as the Non-resident Speculation Tax.

At the same time, Canadian urbanists never tire of singing the praises of all things Paris. They are not alone. We are all in awe of the boulevards, the courtyards, the façades, the monuments and the parks.