[HDThoreaun]

They build the same building over and over again because theyve had to create litearlly a billion units in the last 50 years and it's faster that way.

There are unsold units because the price went crazy due to speculation. Empty housing is one of the main indicators of a real estate bubble. American vacancy rate has slowly crept up but is still extremely low outside of manhattan. Americans tend not to believe housing will appreciate faster than the stock market, so housing speculation is limited, although of course not unheard of. We'd need LVT for that.

[seanmcdirmid]

The empty houses are definitely sold. They are just being held since the return on an unrenovated unit is higher than a renovated one. They are speculating long term, and being landlords doesn’t give them much. There are also apartments that have been sold but are never being lived in before the building is torn down and rebuilt, but they’ll still make their return regardless.

As for the USA, yes it isn’t as bad here yet. But it’s getting there.