You can afford to keep empty buildings when you are making more on the property value increase overall. This is a common tactic in Coeur d'Alene with the comme

You can afford to keep empty buildings when you are making more on the property value increase overall. This is a common tactic in Coeur d'Alene with the commercial units. They leave them empty instead of lowering rents because the property value is largely based on what you can rent them for. I have been watching and there are several buildings which perpetually have empty units with for lease signs. Just started happening more with the rentals. Big investment companies came in and bought up a ton of houses at way above market value and held them (not speculation...they knocked on my parents door too). Then they either leave them empty or make vacation rentals from them. This lowers the availability of houses. It was not a coincidence that these companies came to the town April 2020-September 2020 and made these purchases...I have heard stories about the unreal prices people got for just standard houses local. So now that the availability is down they hold the houses and trickle them out slowly as the prices raise due to competitive bidding from people moving to the area who don't realize that the house they are buying isn't worth the price (nor is it able to be rented by anyone working in town at the price they need to get). If the property values stay the same then it is going to collapse to the point of tent cities. If the valuses go down not only will those who just bought houses lose a lot of money...but also those who just refinanced their houses are likely going to be underwater.