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The profit from home flipping comes from asset speculation not construction. Only one of these creates net value.

I think the line is fuzzier than you'd think.

There's a large grey area of old/marginal/condemned housing stock where buyers are making a tradeoff between a teardown + rebuild vs buying an old house and patching it up.

Flippers who successfully rehabilitate an old house do increase the effective supply.

Where I live (UK), I think most young people would be grateful for an increased supply of cheaper rundown houses to buy. Done up houses we can't afford don't help at all.

The thing is, a flipper is going to sell, one way or another. They'll try to stake a higher price, but they'll sell low if there's no alternative.

Supply, supply, supply is all that matters.

"Guess the poors will just have to wait their turn" isn't really the great insight you think it is.

> Flippers who successfully rehabilitate an old house do increase the effective supply.

100% agree that that is not what any of these ibuyer companies are/were doing.

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