Dumb Vancouver real estate question prize

This is bad, bad journalism, even for the Georgia Straight.

Vancouver media star Charlie Smith wins "dumbest real estate question of the year" for this pearl: The U.S. property market has fallen on hard times. Could our multicultural population will help us avoid a similar fate?

Um... what? Yes, Vancouver is multicultural. But so are New York, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and virtually every other American coastal or southern city of any size. Move into the center, away from the big urban centers and the population gets whiter - just like in Canada.

There are real economic reasons why the U.S. housing market is on a downward slide. A lack of immigration and cultural homogeneity isn't one of them. Odd that such an accomplished journalist would forget that our southern neighbor is at least as culturally diverse as Canada - but when you're taking pot shots at your favorite target, it seems common sense goes out the window.

Of course an influx of immigration into Vancouver will help keep house prices up, by increasing demand. Hopefully, our current government's conservative spending habits will prevent any imitation of the US' deficit spending - and help lock in a healthy economy and housing market for some time to come.

Tags: real estate, housing market, Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight