[jgalt212]

> Median incomes are irrelevant to housing developers.

That's a bunch of horse hooey, as the customers in all housing markets (outside of a few global cities) are all local. Median income + credit conditions = how much buyers can afford.

> The federal government wouldn't really be able to prevent REITs from buying up homes.

Of course not, but no matter what kind of black magic Blackstone is weaving, they cannot get a more than a trivial number of people to rent a 3BR apt for $10K / month (approx price for nice 3BR in Manhattan). Once again, the population's median income is the driver.