From: garym@mcgath.com   
      
   On 12/23/23 9:42 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:   
   > Keith F. Lynch  wrote:   
      
   >> There was an article in today's Washington Post pointing out that   
   >> rates of homelessness are way up, and that homeless people are no   
   >> longer majority mentally ill or addicted.  Most of them were just   
   >> squeezed out by rents increasing much faster than wages.   
   >   
   > A lot of this is because rental houses that used to be owned by independent   
   > landlords are now being bought up by real estate investment trusts which   
   > basically optimize everything for maximum return.  There are many apartment   
   > buildings in NYC which are completely empty because the reit that runs them   
   > can't rent them out at market rate, and if they rented them below market it   
   > would reduce the value of their other properties.   
   >   
   > The rental problem is less the consequence of the housing shortage as a   
   > consequence of direct market manipulation.   
      
   Direct market manipulation doesn't get anyone far when there are many   
   participants, as there used to be in the housing market. I think a lot   
   of small landlords have been scared out of the market. Two years ago I   
   couldn't occupy the home I now live in for several months, because the   
   existing tenant's lease had to run out. With the COVID rules, I was   
   constantly scared she'd decide not to pay, and there would be little I   
   could do about it. Nothing bad actually happened, but I hope I'll never   
   have to rent out a property again.   
      
   It's similar to what happens in a lot of businesses, where running one   
   on a small scale is nerve-wracking and unrewarding. Bigger, more   
   impersonal owners come to dominate the market.   
      
   --   
   Gary McGath    http://www.mcgath.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)