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British Columbia’s Liberal government must walk a fine line between creating affordable housing and causing a crash, as real estate prices loom large over next year’s election, experts say.

The legislature is set to convene Monday to debate changes to Vancouver’s charter that would allow the city to create a tax on vacant homes. The government will also introduce legislative amendments to end self-regulation of real estate agents.

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Both proposals mark dramatic shifts in tone from Premier Christy Clark’s government, which only a year ago rejected Mayor Gregor Robertson’s demand for taxes to cool a superheated housing market.

“They do appear to be scrambling a little bit, which suggests that they feel, or they fear, they have fallen behind public opinion on this,” said Hamish Telford, a political science professor with the University of the Fraser Valley.

Telford said the government might have been reluctant to act in part because its supporters tend to live outside the Lower Mainland. In Vancouver, the Liberals draw support from older residents who have more equity built up in their homes, he said.