Opponents of Blackstone and other finance firms that have been buying up housing are quick to blame them for the housing crisis. But it's the other way around: the failure to plan for and develop enough housing has attracted the firms.
"The 80,000 or so homes in Blackstone’s nationwide portfolio and the few thousand homes in its California portfolio do not drive the 3.5 million-unit Los Angeles market. Blackstone did not create a shortage of 3 million units statewide (give or take). Blackstone did not impose restrictive zoning laws. Blackstone did not kill California’s redevelopment system. Blackstone did not drive up rents in the 2010s when recession-stricken millennials emerged out of their parents’ basements."
"Many homeowners are their own little Blackstones. Many of the same people who decry the purchase of thousands of homes by Wall Street are the same people who protest the development of new homes in their neighborhoods. Why? Sure, some of them care — a little — about “neighborhood character.” But California’s NIMBY movement has not endured the decades, beginning with its Prop. 13 temper tantrum in 1978, because of neighborhood character. It’s because they don’t want to endanger their property values."
FULL STORY: The Phony Debate Over Wall Street and the Housing Crisis
Institutional Investors Gaining a Larger Footprint in the Housing Market, Report Says
The locations with the fastest growing populations are seeing the most dramatic increase in investor-owned single-family housing rentals.
Wall Street Suddenly Buying Fewer Single-Family Homes
Rising interest rates are having a major effect in the housing market—including on the large institutional investors who spent much of the past couple of years buying up single-family homes.
Local, State Governments Creating Obstacles for Institutional Investors on the Housing Market
Large Wall Street investors are increasing their footprint in the housing market, like they did after the Great Recession, and some local and state governments are inventing new ways to prevent these institutional investors from cornering the market.
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
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