I don't disagree that reforming property ownership would make it so that investors (of various sizes) can't take advantage of housing scarcity to earn obscene rents.

However, even doing that still doesn't solve the problem of housing supply-demand mismatch. When housing construction lags population growth for decades there is going to be scarcity no matter what - and that lag in construction is thanks to decades of local, state, and federal support for discriminatory zoning and inefficient property tax policies, fueled by racism and classism.

The landlords are just riding the wave which our governments and zoning boards have prepared for them by attempting to freeze our cities in 1965.

With a sub-5% vacancy rate, if prices fall by half overnight, everyone who currently can't afford a home just won't be able to find a home. The good news is that fixing the supply side lowers prices, takes away those massive rents, and along with them the incentive for rental conversions and speculative purchases.