Comment by agentifysh
2 days ago
regarding public reits focusing on blackrock misses the Vancouver Model dynamic which is absolutely happening in major us markets.
the issue isn't just yield-seeking corps, it's opaque shell companies (llc) using real estate as a store of value aka money laundering vehicle. vancouver showed how this decouples prices from local wages completely. the us has this exact vulnerability—anonymous delaware/wyoming llcs buying in cash, specifically in supply-constrained cities like ny or miami.
this only works because of zoning. if nimbys didn't artificially cap supply, housing would be a depreciating consumer good (like in Japan) rather than a deflation-proof asset class. zoning is what turns a house into a safe deposit box for offshore capital.
if the corporate transparency act that Trump vetoed is successful then I expect to see the real estate become US's top source of GDP like it is for Canada.
> this only works because of zoning
The dynamics in the countries that don't have zoning is exactly the same. Price bubble and misery for everyone in dense cities.
There will be no affordable housing in cities, whatever you do, short of nuking everything from the orbit.