[mordae]

I've seen some calculations suggesting that the speculators will buy up anything at this point. It's impossible to build enough. Partly because buying up new houses protects the investment into the already owned.

Also, what makes you think the market is not working and new houses are not being built at the highest possible pace? Given the prices, that would be a sensible assumption, no?

[WalterBright]

> speculators will buy up anything at this point

The headline says "Investor home purchases drop 30%".

> Partly because buying up new houses protects the investment into the already owned.

That doesn't work. See the latest news on cryptocurrencies.

[refurb]

Houses aren't being build which is the reason we're in trouble.

And no, investors won't buy up all the houses. Blackrock's massive home buying fund was <1% of the total value of the housing market.

[paulgb]

I haven’t seen those calculations but I’m very skeptical. The reason people are profitably able to invest in housing is that it is scarce. If the supply increased, housing would no longer be a desirable investment.

> what makes you think the market is not working and new houses are not being built at the highest possible pace

There’s a lot of political pressure by existing homeowners not to green light additional housing in their neighborhoods, because it would bring the price of the homes they already own down. There are a number of high-density projects in NYC and SF that have been blocked by these efforts.