I'm confused by this. Housing prices are high, exactly because it's effectively impossible to build housing in the most expensive cities. Building housing in these cities is extremely profitable, it's just difficult, if not impossible, to build.
627 days, just for the permit: This data shows the staggering timeline to build homes in S.F.: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/housing-permits-san-f...
>The typical applicant currently waits a staggering 627 calendar days before obtaining a full building permit from the city to construct a multifamily housing project, and 861 days before gaining the same approval for a single-family residence, the analysis found.
This has little to do with poor profit opportunities insofar as housing is concerned, and everything to do with incumbents (both home-owners and rent-controlled renter) explicitly trying to thwart new construction wherever possible. Home-owners want shortages to protect their property values. Rent-controlled renters want to block development because it might incentivize their landlords to redevelop the property they live in (this is specific to California laws).
>how can removing rent control spell more profit opportunities for private interests without increasing price?
>If prices stay somewhat the same without rent control, where is the incentive to build more housing?
The answer is volume. If I have one unit that rents for $4000/month, but I redevelop to create 3 units that rent at $3000/month, I effectively increase my profits by $5000/month, while lowering local rents by $1000/month. Everybody wins.
Now, if someone has rent-control at $1000/month, then I'm not going to argue that their rent isn't going to go up. It will, but it should. Because someone somehow living at a price that is artificially $3000/month cheaper than their neighbors is obviously unjust, I see little reason to preserve this inequality beyond political practicalities. Were these volume discounts don't exist, rent-controls are generally benign, however, as discussed before, they won't be benign for long, because the cause a lack of development, which will create a shortage over time.
I obviously think these systems are entrenched, and should be phased out. I don't think that rent controls should be preserved indefinitely, but even if we were to completely change the system tomorrow, I understand that people have built their lives around these inequalities, and should have 5-10 years (minimum) for these inequalities to be eliminated.