Some time ago I saw a TV programme with a couple that invested in housing like that, kind of as a side-business. They also gave seminars on how to do that as a

Some time ago I saw a TV programme with a couple that invested in housing like that, kind of as a side-business. They also gave seminars on how to do that as a regular person; the tagline was "everyone in the country can get rich by investing in housing!" Ehhhh... That said, there seem to be multiple factors going on, all combined resulting in the prices we're seeing today: housing as retirement plan, investment companies, population growth, increased urbanisation, AirBnB and short-term rentals, increase of expats, dysfunctional government. It's very hard for me to tell which factor is responsible for how much, which will probably differ per locality, but I don't think there a single factor that explains it all.