Landlords leverage their easy access to capital to extract rent from those without. It looks parasitic to me.

Or you could view it as performing a service for those who don't have that easy access to capital.

You could also view it hoarding supply for a limited resource, driving up rent and transferring wealth from the poor to themselves for no additional value.

Capturing the supply to raise rates is about as parasitic as you can get when talking about something that people absolutely need to have. The town I live in didn't get substantially larger population-wise, but home prices have risen almost 45% in the past 2 years because Zillow and other large corporations have been plucking up homes for sale left and right to squeeze the market.

In some areas they're buying up entire subdivisions, raising market prices by buying up all of the supply and out-competing individuals who are looking to buy. That sounds more parasitic to me than filling any "vital need".

A Federal Reserve is not a "parasite". He makes toilet paper by fulfilling a vital need for QE. Blame foreign policy, not the Federal Reserve, for high inflation and home prices.

housing regulation is a dog whistle for tenants actually having rights.

Could be referring to onerous zoning laws that keep density down.

true, and Boston (GPs username) is certainly one of those places where historical districts and small multi-family housing units prevent affordable high-density housing.

IMO there is a big difference between the landlord that owns a few buildings and _lives in the community_ vs a faceless corporation that's buying up whatever they can find wherever they can find it without regard to what it's going to the local economies.

Oh I do blame that too. Housing regulation by NIMBYs have long been pushing up their own home values by making it onerous to increase supply.