it largely does not. in the high-dollar markets like vancouver and toronto the cost to purchase has little to no relation to the actual houses-to-live-in marke

it largely does not. in the high-dollar markets like vancouver and toronto the cost to purchase has little to no relation to the actual houses-to-live-in market, and the cost to own is many times higher than the cost to rent because the housing market is purely a speculative financial market. many of the properties are left empty for extended periods of time because the owners value liquidity over rental income, and having a renter makes it more difficult to sell quickly when market conditions change (or if you simply want to shift your portfolio).