> Because I'm pretty sure someone can buy a home, rent it out and make a monthly return on it, thus satisfying both a place to live and investment.
No, they are inserting themselves in the process as a middle-man providing absolutely no service or added value. All they have is capital, a monopoly on capital wrt. the person renting the house. This lets them add a drastic markup on the monthly price of housing for the person renting, as a direct first-order effect, PLUS, as an indirect effect this mechanism incentivises speculation and raises house prices even more.
Renting out a house is a service. Being a landlord means legal responsibilities and liabilities. Houses need to be up to code, maintained, insured, and this is expensive. Grass needs to be cut, pipes need to be fixed, appliances need to be in working order.
The person who wants to rent a house has obviously chosen not to, or cannot afford to, buy a house. They get the upside of having to take no financial risk, ie. fire, tornado, flooding, economic/housing market collapse, etc. The downside is they do not have ownership and make no market gains.
No, they are inserting themselves in the process as a middle-man providing absolutely no service or added value. All they have is capital, a monopoly on capital wrt. the person renting the house. This lets them add a drastic markup on the monthly price of housing for the person renting, as a direct first-order effect, PLUS, as an indirect effect this mechanism incentivises speculation and raises house prices even more.