[webosdude]

I think one of the cause is we don’t tax the landlords higher for the investment property. That’s why lot of upper middle class and HNIs have lot of investment properties around the country. It’s so easy to buy and rent out properties without even seeing them ever. One of my friend who works at Microsoft in Seattle, owns 4 properties around US(3 in WA and 1 in TX). It was so easy to get cheap mortgages between 2017-21 if you had 100-200k lying around.

[ChrisLTD]

Higher or lower taxes doesn't change the market rate for a given unit. If your landlord has to pay higher or lower taxes, they still can charge what the market will bear. However, increasing the supply of rental units will lower rents or at least slow the increase.

[webosdude]

That is one instrument to deincentivizing accumulation of more than 1 property. Increasing supply is definitely another one but as I mentioned that earlier most of those rental units get acquired by richer landlords. One can also make those investment property mortgages much higher.

[ChrisLTD]

What is the point of disincentivizing the accumulation of more than one property?

[beej71]

To allow more people to buy property and to prevent price increases due to speculation.

[bryanlarsen]

Fewer landlords means cheaper to buy and more expensive to rent. Helps the upper middle class at the expense of the poor.

[beej71]

In my town now house prices are through the roof and the rental market is completely impacted.

So cheaper to buy would be a step up.