What happens when private equity buys homes in your neighborhood

> But the bigger problem for housing affordability, he adds, is that "we just haven't built enough [homes] to keep up with the population growth and household formation."

The circular incentive here is left unsaid. If a house is an investment, you and every other homeowner has an incentive to keep supply low and demand high. This ultimately drives votes, lobbying, and policies that prevent houses being built. Otherwise you end up with falling rents and stagnating property prices, like in Austin.

https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/cooling-rent-growth-d...

> you and every other homeowner has an incentive to keep supply low and demand high.

Do you really believe everyone thinks this way? No one I know who owns a home bought it for investment. They bought it so their family has a place to live that is theirs.