> Meanwhile local politicians and boomers support NIMBYism and oppose all housing developments
This is the problem - artificially constrained supply. Fix this and the lower prices will follow. Fix other things and you’ll just create further distortions and frustrations later on
Making more houses won't solve the problem - there will just be more houses to rent out at vastly inflated prices.
Renting houses simply shouldn't be such a profitable endeavor. There have been stories posted where hotels snap up apartment units for AirBNB because those make more money than hotel rooms. That should never be the case.
In the world of 20 years ago, I would agree with you. Renting simply wasn't profitable enough to be a problem back then.
However, in today's world where AirBNB is unbelievably profitable, more houses than ever can be put up for rent at extreme prices. It heavily restricts the housing supply in a way that wasn't possible before AirBNB came around.
AirBnB does throw a spanner in the works of the rental market.
But I don’t think there’s either an infinite pool of AirBnB demand or that every landlord is willing to put up with running an AirBnB regardless of profit (doing AirBnB is more a business than a passive investment).
Maybe limiting AirBnB in residential zones will contribute to the solution, but neither limiting the capital flow into housing nor limiting the number of new units built will ever work.
This is the problem - artificially constrained supply. Fix this and the lower prices will follow. Fix other things and you’ll just create further distortions and frustrations later on