I was referring to the practice of buying an apartment and leaving it empty. This is a bad way to invest because there is no rental income. The article you lin

I was referring to the practice of buying an apartment and leaving it empty. This is a bad way to invest because there is no rental income. The article you linked refers to buyers who only care about rental income. The point I am trying to make is that there are two phenomena. First the very rich who buy an apartment that they rarely use just because they can. The second is more high paying jobs in the area driving up demand. What I am arguing against is a third "macroeconomic" phenomenon where foreign investors looking for somewhere to "park" their money drive up prices directly. The only thing that makes NYC attractive to foreign investors is the local demand for housing.