Watching the global real estate market from Toronto these days can make you feel a little like Nero with his fiddle. As the sub-prime meltdown spreads from city to city, expensive condos from London to New York now sit on the market for months at a time.

Meanwhile, Toronto assumes the mantle of condo capital of North America. We are the only major English-speaking city in our hemisphere to have plowed right through the 2007 crisis without so much as a blip. Everybody’s wondering why we’re weathering the storm so well (and just how long that will last). Sherry Cooper, the renowned BMO economics guru, says we shouldn’t look to our local population for the explanation. “The number of units sold,” she says, “particularly at the affluent level, is growing by far more than the number of high-end domestic households.”

So who’s snapping up all the condos? Iranians, mainly. And Russians, and South Koreans, and Brits. Agent Shaun Hsu says that half his sales over the past year have been to foreign buyers. Others, particularly at the high-end firms, say that Iranians are their single biggest client group these days. Michael Kalles, president of Harvey Kalles, estimates they’ve had about 100 Iranian clients buy over the past three years. Mark McLean of Sotheby’s says much of his business comes from his company’s 450 offices around the world. “It’s non-stop for us,” he says. “We have 18 agents all working, just trying to keep up.” One man from Iran, who hasn’t even decided if he’ll move here, recently bought three not-yet-built condos through Forest Hill Real Estate, with a price tag of about $11 million.

The reason for the Iranian influx? In the past few years, the U.S. has become less welcoming to Muslims. “American foreign policy is not exactly conducive to attracting certain groups of immigrants these days,” says Jimmy Molloy of Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd., who has also noticed the Iranian trend. “Canada is perceived as a much more tolerant option.”

The Persian community in Toronto has been growing for years and includes many builders of high-end condo developments, like Shane Baghai’s Avondale complexes at Yonge and the 401, a neighbourhood populated with many self-described Tehran­tonians. Another builder, Sam Haji moved from Iran (via London) in 1998 and set up a construction company here, working for many Iranian-Canadians, often in the 401 and Bayview area. “The market is very good,” he says. “We’re always busy.”

It’s been about four decades since multi­culturalism became an official part of our already colourful nation. Tru­deau’s legacy has given us more than ethnically interesting restaurants and vibrant parades; it also appears to be propelling Canada’s eco­nomic engine.