> I’m not sure I see the political logic there, but I guess I’m not much of an expert on politics.

...

> [Proceeds to do nothing but knock down political strawmen]

Remarkable that investor-owned multi-family housing is left out of these analyses. Surely that contributes to housing supply and should factor into any such analysis of pricing power among investors. For example, about 44% of California households rent.

Additionally looking at national averages is misleading. Investor pricing power can exist in individual markets without being ubiquitous across the nation. The allegations made against RealPage are a notable example, if true.

A more insidious issue besides just pricing power among investors is the direction of cash flow. When you rent, cash is paid to the owner. When you take out a mortgage, interest is paid to the bank. These are both mechanisms for rentier capitalists to extract cash from those with less - by paying for a basic need - essentially wealth redistribution in the wrong direction.