An empty house that has been slowly crumbling in Point Grey, Vancouver, is now up for sale, and it is going for $7.2 million. It was bought in 2011 for $4.6 million and sold in 2010 for $3.35 million. The current owners of the property are Chinese investors who have never been seen by their neighbors. The only thing residing in this place is money.

Something similar is happening in London, and it's transforming sections of upscale neighborhoods into ghost towns. The 1 percent of the world (Russia, Greece, China) need places to put their money, and homes in cities are often the best such places.

Vancouver, one of the most expensive cities in the world (in terms of property values), has become a city not for people but for surplus cash. The median income there is $71,000, but a single-family home costs $1 million or more.