Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
đź’¸ THE $1,000,000 QUESTION CONTEST! đź’¸
Think you know what's truly driving the affordability crisis? We want to hear from you. We are giving away $1 Million in prizes for the best answers, solutions, and insights.
👉 Enter the contest right here: milliondollarquestion.org
New York City is in a massive housing crisis, yet up to 50,000 apartments are sitting empty. Why?
Welcome to the world of "ghost apartments." Rent control and rent stabilization sound compassionate on paper, but in reality, they crush the housing supply. When complex building codes demand tens of thousands of dollars in renovations and local laws cap how much rent a landlord can collect, property owners can't afford to fix the units. Their only option? Lock the doors and take the apartments off the market entirely.
Even worse, rent-controlled units rarely end up helping the people who need them most. Landlords end up renting to wealthy applicants with flawless credit, or fresh college grads who state zero income right after graduation and go on to make six figures while keeping a subsidized apartment.
In this video, we break down why ghost apartments and soaring rent aren't a market failure—they're the direct result of bad government regulations colliding with supply and demand.
Chapters
0:00 - Why NYC Housing Is Completely Broken
0:06 - What Are "Ghost Apartments"?
0:27 - How Building Codes & Rent Control Lock Up Housing
1:09 - Why Rent Control Benefits the Rich (Not the Poor)
1:56 - Supply and Demand Are Never Optional
#rentcontrol #economics #history #affordabilitycrisis #freemarket
Credits:
Written by Andrew Heaton
Produced by Daphne Posadas
Edited by Luis Fernando Lopez
Thumbnail Design by Yorel Ktech
đź’¸ THE $1,000,000 QUESTION CONTEST! đź’¸
Think you know what's truly driving the affordability crisis? We want to hear from you. We are giving away $1 Million in prizes for the best answers, solutions, and insights.
👉 Enter the contest right here: milliondollarquestion.org
New York City is in a massive housing crisis, yet up to 50,000 apartments are sitting empty. Why?
Welcome to the world of "ghost apartments." Rent control and rent stabilization sound compassionate on paper, but in reality, they crush the housing supply. When complex building codes demand tens of thousands of dollars in renovations and local laws cap how much rent a landlord can collect, property owners can't afford to fix the units. Their only option? Lock the doors and take the apartments off the market entirely.
Even worse, rent-controlled units rarely end up helping the people who need them most. Landlords end up renting to wealthy applicants with flawless credit, or fresh college grads who state zero income right after graduation and go on to make six figures while keeping a subsidized apartment.
In this video, we break down why ghost apartments and soaring rent aren't a market failure—they're the direct result of bad government regulations colliding with supply and demand.
Chapters
0:00 - Why NYC Housing Is Completely Broken
0:06 - What Are "Ghost Apartments"?
0:27 - How Building Codes & Rent Control Lock Up Housing
1:09 - Why Rent Control Benefits the Rich (Not the Poor)
1:56 - Supply and Demand Are Never Optional
#rentcontrol #economics #history #affordabilitycrisis #freemarket
Credits:
Written by Andrew Heaton
Produced by Daphne Posadas
Edited by Luis Fernando Lopez
Thumbnail Design by Yorel Ktech
