Housing is a depreciating asset. Even if you're trying to continuously corner the market, you'll be losing money in the long run if you're not actually renting the units for more than you're buying them for.
If supply can be built to meet demand, trying to corner the market to achieve monopoly rents will fail in the long run.
Land isn't. And the house is depreciating, but not the value of having a rental at that location. My house is worth four times what I bought it for a decade ago. The house itself is depreciating, and because I rent a portion of it, I can claim that depreciation, but the value of the property is going up.
> Housing is a depreciating asset.
It ought to be, but that is not how America works