> At least now there are tower blocks getting built in London that are tall. Except they're expensive, get bought out by foreign investors. And then left empty.

> At least now there are tower blocks getting built in London that are tall. Except they're expensive, get bought out by foreign investors. And then left empty. So they're not much help to anyone other than speculators and developers. I can't help but be reminded of this meme: https://ifunny.co/picture/big-real-estate-companies-intentionally-keep-apartments-vacant-because-it-JrWO2CUQA https://ifunny.co/picture/big-real-estate-companies-intentio... There is no circumstance in which it is more profitable to leave an apartment empty than to rent it out, and both speculators and developers understand this. Other than that I don't disagree with you - there is a cottage industry around the 'housing only ever goes up' assumption, and a lot of legislative moats designed to ensure it stays that way. Until these are defeated - and I'm a lot less optimistic about the UK and Australia than the US on this - housing will sadly remain unaffordable for most.