“Buy-to-let” for housing has, for decades, been a popular retirement income in the UK. Maybe it’s not such a big thing in the US, but here a major part of the housing shortage has been caused by the wealthy elderly people realising that buying an extra house or two actually pays better than their pension. The vast majority of rental property portfolios are 1-10 houses owned by individuals, not large companies. And for an awful lot of people aged 40 or younger, their only realistic prospect of owning a house is having a parent or grandparent die - I do know a few people who got a house this way, or used other inheritance as a deposit to buy a house. For the majority of people in this situation, said parents or grandparents haven’t died yet.
The elderly are also the ones who most often object to perfectly good housing developments because it “spoils their view”. This is housing on flat, safe land, on the edge of existing settlements, where there is a recognised need for additional housing. But a bunch of wealthy people complain that it’s going to be built (“I’m alright Jack”), and so it doesn’t happen.
“Buy-to-let” for housing has, for decades, been a popular retirement income in the UK. Maybe it’s not such a big thing in the US, but here a major part of the housing shortage has been caused by the wealthy elderly people realising that buying an extra house or two actually pays better than their pension. The vast majority of rental property portfolios are 1-10 houses owned by individuals, not large companies. And for an awful lot of people aged 40 or younger, their only realistic prospect of owning a house is having a parent or grandparent die - I do know a few people who got a house this way, or used other inheritance as a deposit to buy a house. For the majority of people in this situation, said parents or grandparents haven’t died yet.
The elderly are also the ones who most often object to perfectly good housing developments because it “spoils their view”. This is housing on flat, safe land, on the edge of existing settlements, where there is a recognised need for additional housing. But a bunch of wealthy people complain that it’s going to be built (“I’m alright Jack”), and so it doesn’t happen.