It works both ways, in rural Thailand people could avoid loan sharks by getting a better price from a farang, when they want to pull out some equity. The problem it caused by people buying condos as investments ,they sit empty while there is a housing shortage. That's a big problem in Vancouver so they have put a tax on unoccupied units but it needs to be ten times as much to change anything. They missed the boat as the prices have risen to unaffordable levels.