Financial Times
Jan 23, 2019 - 4 min
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How private equity is pricing everyday people out of the housing market. In the aftermath of the housing market crash, the typical home value in the Phoenix metro area fell by more than 50%; real estate agents found that their biggest challenge was convincing people to buy. Then the pandemic hit and sparked a frenzy of wealthy tech companies and Wall Street investors building gigantic portfolios of rental homes. Two years later, the Phoenix housing market is massively distorted, and frustrated buyers have started pointing fingers. With families priced out and good neighbourhoods and potential first-time buyers stuck in the rental trap, Patrick Clark meets with real estate agent Javier Vidana as he investigates the fallout from the suburban gold rush.