The Problem Isn’t a Housing Shortage, It’s the Concentration of Ownership by the Wealthy

August 24, 2023

by Charles Hugh Smith Of Two Minds

This concentration of housing ownership by the wealthy is the direct result of Federal Reserve and federal policies that benefit the wealthy.

We’re told that sky-high rents and home prices are the result of a shortage of housing. The solution is simple: build more housing.

This sounds obvious, but the reality is the problem isn’t a shortage, it’s the concentration of housing ownership in the top 10%, the same 10% who own the majority of other income-producing assets like stocks and bonds.

The problem is the wealthy are hoarding housing as just another income-producing asset to accumulate because the central bank / economic-financial policies of the past few decades have favored capital over labor and the already-wealthy who bought assets when they were cheap.