As a Canadian-born Chinese, I have been able to experience both vastly different cultures in my lifetime. Many people in Vancouver exclaim over the exponentially rising prices of land and rent both downtown and in major suburbs. However, many new immigrant Chinese, who used to live in huge urban Chinese cities such as Hong Kong, Beijing or Shanghai, are just as amazed by how slowly the prices of land are rising here. For example, an average-sized apartment that my parents own in a fairly good location in downtown Beijing has experienced an eight-fold growth in price in the last couple of years. Prices doubling in a year is commonplace all over China.
   
In “What a Collapse of the Chinese Real Estate Bubble will mean for the World“, featured in Time Magazine, Ken Miller explains that the housing price bubble created in China has been just as important to its economy as cheap labor.
The Chinese government is currently focused on directing its economy towards domestic services and less towards exports, manufacturing and construction. If the Chinese economic bubble ever bursts, the consequences will be felt greatly both within the country and around the world as China is currently one of Europe and the US’s major importers and investors.