What happens when private equity buys homes in your neighborhood

(www.npr.org)

61 points pseudolus | 1 comments | 09 Sep 25 17:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.43s | source

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jameslk ◴[09 Sep 25 18:34 UTC] No.45186475[source]▶

> 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...

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youniverse ◴[09 Sep 25 19:03 UTC] No.45187041[source]▶

>>45186475 #

I would imagine most of the housing being newly built is also on the higher end. This new supply doesn't exactly help affordability!

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1. criddell ◴[09 Sep 25 19:11 UTC] No.45187192[source]▶

>>45187041 #

I don't think that's the case. The article specifically mentions multi-family units:

> Austin, TX presents the clearest example of this trend. From 2021 to 2023, an average of 9.9 multifamily units were permitted for every 1,000 existing residents in the Austin metro, by far the highest rate among the nation’s 50 largest metros. As these new units have gradually reached completion, the median rent in the Austin metro has fallen by 7.3 percent over the past year, which also ranks first among the top 50 metros.

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