[survirtual]

Except it isn't a free market. It is a heavily regulated market that favors corporations. The regulatory bodies have been corporate captured. In addition, the corporate bodies collude on things like rent, and have a near infinite runway to leave units empty.

With the collusion of corporate entities setting prices, it raises the overall market prices of properties. As small-time landlords observe the markets, they naturally also raise their prices to increase prices.

Additionally, because of corporate capture and collusion in other markets, prices broadly increase for owning property. This forces everyone who keeps rent lower to raise rents.

The way to fix this is simple. Stop the corporate collusion by making laws that make it functionally impossible.

This can be done by the following:

- tax the hell out of corporate ownership of residential properties

- an increasingly expensive multi-home tax. First home is tax free. Second has yearly taxes and those taxes exponentially increase for each additional home.

- a vacant home tax. On top of any second home taxation, for homes besides your 1 home, there should be a vacant home tax. If a home does not have a resident in it, it should be taxed. That tax should be around what it would cost to rent the unit out.

There are some other additional factors such as penalizing foreign non-resident owners, but this covers the bulk.

Being a landlord should not be easily profitable. It should be a job that you work your ass off at.

Then and only then will the free market begin to function and optimize.

[hollerith]

I think your attitude (landlords are the problem; we must make life harder for landlords) is a big reason housing is so expensive because it creates a situation in which not enough people with money or access to credit want to become landlords.

You say that the landlord industry has captured its regulators, but you give no example of any action or ruling by an regulator that benefits landlords at the expense of tenants.

[survirtual]

Housing is expensive because of greedy landlords gobbling up all the property and turning warm homes into cold revenue sources.

Landlords should be an exception, not the standard.

[crazygringo]

None of this is true.

Collusion on rent is a relatively new phenomenon around RealPage and is being banned. Meanwhile, regulations like rent stabilization in NYC benefit existing tenants, not landlords.

And the taxes you describe having nothing to do with collusion. Collusion is fought using anti-collusion laws. What could possibly lead you to believe that multi-home taxes would reduce corporate collusion?

Yes, obviously RealPage should be banned everywhere. But corporate capture is not the underlying economic issue at all behind high prices. Lack of supply is.

[survirtual]

Anti-collusion laws are ineffective. Legislation that targets easier to enforce vectors with desirable side effects makes more sense.

Whether my theory on what is occurring is true or not, the proposed solution would solve it along with countless other issues, while have very little downside for anyone but a tiny group of lazy parasites.