A decade of underbuilding led to a housing shortfall of 3.8 million units in 2019 – before the pandemic further exacerbated the issue with labor and supply chain problems. In other words, we’ve been building up to this housing supply crisis for a long time. It didn’t come out of nowhere.

The build-to-rent (BTR) model has gained momentum over the past several years for good reason. This strategy, which builds new properties with the explicit intention to rent them out rather than sell them to homebuyers, helps bridge the affordability gap between would-be homebuyers and new construction.

The “Housing Theory of Everything” proclaims that housing is the single biggest factor driving our economic climate, including the persistence of wealth inequality. Those who own homes and other properties are ahead of the average American, as they can establish and grow equity. Real estate has long been the greatest generator of generational wealth, and that hasn’t changed.