I'm curious to know if short term rentals are an actual problem, compared to the much bigger, largely proven, and much less publicised, issue of hedge and inves

I'm curious to know if short term rentals are an actual problem, compared to the much bigger, largely proven, and much less publicised, issue of hedge and investment funds buying out entire blocks of buildings. I myself lived in Madrid for 5-6 years, and what seemed to drive the cost of living up weren't the people owning one or two rental apartments, but corporations and banks buying entire buildings up. At least in Spain, there has been a connection between banks not making large chunks of their real estate stock available, and investment funds buying on the scarcity. > Anyway, cities are for citizens, not for freeloaders. This feels like a bit narrow sighted. While these workers you are talking about don't pay income taxes in these cities, they do pay other taxes (utilities, consumer products, etc.), and other than public infrastructure, they usually do not have free access to most services without paying (education, most healthcare). So who's "freeloading" here? I would admit that they pay less taxes, but that doesn't mean that they pay zero taxes. And another question arises. I myself am a Spaniard residing in the US. Would I be considered a "freeloader" if I go back to Spain and work for my employer in the US for a month or two? Do nationals get that consideration?