Big investors make convenient villains.

Housing shortages were built by rules that block construction. Comment “Housing” and we’ll send you an article that explores this further. Politicians increasingly blame institutional investors for high rents and home prices, then propose bans on companies owning single-family homes. The slogan sounds appealing: homes are for people. The economics are much weaker. Investors usually buy homes to rent them, not to keep them empty. They add management, maintenance, capital, and competition to the rental market. In places where construction can respond, investor demand can even encourage builders to add more homes. The deeper problem is supply. When supply is blocked, every additional buyer, renter, or investor competes over too few homes. Housing becomes more affordable when cities allow more construction, more investment, more density, and more competition.