The judge disagreed with the lawsuit's claim that the foreign buyers tax disproportionately targets Asian buyers, particularly of Chinese descent.

Is housing about making money or having a place to live? It's time to talk, says the Canada Research Chair in urban change and social inclusion.

A Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation economist says 10.4 per cent of condos in B.C. have at least one non-resident owner.

"We're the only place in the country where the vast majority of us choose housing as the number one issue."

Montreal was the hot Canadian real estate market for Chinese nationals last year as interest slipped in Toronto and Vancouver following the introduction of foreign buyers taxes, says a report from a website for buyers of overseas properties.

The share of non-resident-owned homes in this part of the region is close to what it is in Whistler, a resort community.

"All of this focus... is pushing our politicians to come up with kind of knee-jerk responses to target and attack foreign buyers."

Very different views of foreign buying from two sides of the aisle.

For condos valued at $600K and up, non-residents own at least 1 in 10 across Metro Vancouver.

Foreign buyers are "just a straw man for a country that refuses to recognize that cheap credit for local investors is the real reason prices are rising," she said.