An increasingly important…

An increasingly important barrier to purchasing a home is the fact that more and more houses are sold even before they are placed on the market - sold to tourism entrepreneurs who actively engage real estate agents. In my neighbourhood, 4 homes that have recently been sold were sold to individuals who have no intention of living in the homes. The purchases are intended to be sources of profit in the short term rental business.
Short-term rentals are increasingly prevalent particularly in tourist-oriented locations. Supporters argue that they provide a flexible source of income for property owners, while opponents say that they can ruin the local quality of life due to noise and traffic, and can make apartments and homes more expensive by removing units from the local housing stock. They also disrupt the hotel/motel businesses.
At present 100% of a community could become short term vacation rentals.
There is no balance of housing, tourism and community. It is a game of whoever gets to the listing first and these entrepreneurs have lots of cash to put on the table and are efficient in lobbying real estate agents whose territories are prime residential areas.
People live in residential neighborhoods to get away from commercial businesses. Right now, my neighborhood could very easily become totally commercialized by these entrepreneurs.
Legislation is needed to prevent permanent houses from being converted to vacation rentals.
Rural municipalities need guidance including strict regulatory enforcement to ensure that people who want to actually live and raise a family in a house have priority access to the housing market. Standardization of controls to regulate this emerging trend could include: must live in the house in order to offer a set maximum of rooms ad vacation rentals; must have adequate parking; no party houses allowed; ensure that the grounds are kept in good condition; maximum limit on vacation stay;
penalize those found guilty of creating a disturbance/creating excessive noise; be regulated under provisions standardized across the province.
As long as this business is allowed to flourish unabated, the housing market will continue to shrink.