Nice anecdote, but now you're conflating second homes with rental units. Supposing they did not own 50+ rental properties, someone would have to own them if the

Nice anecdote, but now you're conflating second homes with rental units. Supposing they did not own 50+ rental properties, someone would have to own them if they're to be available for rent. They don't get built for nothing. Why is rental availability framed as a negative? You seem to be making an allusion that average people would otherwise purchase apartment complexes. Supposing they want to buy and not rent, they'd look at condos, and the construction of a condo is not contingent on not constructing apartments. This is not zero sum. If you have a growing population, you have to build. At any rate, the point is that qua "second homes", they represent a drop in the bucket compared to the overall market. Home ownership rate is around 63%, for a population of 334 million. The inelasticity of housing construction whilst demand is steadily climbing due to immigration has far more impact on average housing prices than cases of the ultra-wealthy constructing or purchasing a mansion upstate.