The Housing Affordability War
How Politicians Turn a Housing Shortage into Political Power - and What One New York Apartment Reveals
From the essay
When a politician promises to freeze the rent, ask a second question. Who will build the next apartment? A rent can be frozen. Land, labor, debt, insurance, taxes, utilities, and repairs cannot. Before there is a tenant, a lease, or a landlord to condemn, someone must decide to put capital at risk. If the expected rent will not cover the building and produce a return worth the risk, the investor does not hold a press conference. The investor buys something else. The apartment disappears before anyone can photograph it, regulate it, or move into it. Housing pain deserves an honest solution.