[ijamj]

Not to mention perfectly valid non-speculative buyers.

Scenario for you: international student completed UBC and started working full-time on local tech company. After struggle to save, put a deposit on a place after saving from working part-time during later years of degree and about to close deal in a couple weeks (when new place is ready). Now, BAM! Gotta have to pony up 15% on home price agreed upon nearly a year earlier. More than original deposit! Tell me how that encourages qualified tech workers to stick around...

They aimed at a particular kind of "foreign buyers" in a crowd, but used a shotgun...