[wolpoli]

Where do housing in the rental market come from if they aren't purchased and rented out by investors? No level of the government in Canada is building anything more than a token number of housing, and those that are built aren't added to the general rental pool.

[wubrr]

> Where do housing in the rental market come from if they aren't purchased and rented out by investors?

Purpose-built rentals. Also, the need for rentals and rent prices in general would go down if most of the new builds weren't scooped up by investors and people could actually buy homes to live in.

[wolpoli]

> Purpose-built rentals

Purpose-built rentals are purchased by big pension funds and other investors.

> Also, the need for rentals and rent prices in general would go down if most of the new builds weren't scooped up by investors and people could actually buy homes to live in.

Are you saying there will be more supply of home built per year if higher % of rental is built? If so, then logically, it will tend to lead to lower rent and lower home price, but I was under the impression that the industry cannot build any faster than it is now and that changing the mix does not help.

[wubrr]

Profit margins on new builds have been increasing[0] and the labour market in not too hot from what I understand, so that makes me think we can probably build more. But if we truly can't build more - introduce a tax on multiple properties and invest that into housing (in a smart way).

[0] https://betterdwelling.com/home-builder-profit-margins-incre...