How Not To Solve A Housing Crisis

Dear Reader,

Spain's Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez just started 2026 by announcing new measures to "fix" the country's housing crisis.

He's promising to build 10,700 state-owned homes and vowed to "continue intervening in the housing market."

• They're Blaming Everything Except the Real Problem: Spain needs 700,000 more homes–but instead of removing construction barriers, they're taxing tourists

• NYC Chose Rent Control Over Construction: Mayor Mamdani wants to freeze rates on one million rent-stabilized properties 

• Government Intervention Created This Mess: Spain's bureaucracy cut new home construction to one-sixth of pre-2008 levels; NYC's rent control makes renovation unaffordable for landlords

• Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Forces Open Legal Loophole that any American who follows the simple steps can use to cut thousands off their tax bills, multiply their cash flow and protect their family wealth for generations. Click here to start keeping what’s yours.

Continue intervening.

The market's already broken because of government intervention. His brilliant solution? More intervention.

This is what happens when socialists run things. They break it, then promise to fix it by doing more of what broke it.

NYC's Playing the Same Stupid Game

New York's new leftist mayor Zohran Mamdani just took office on the same mission.

Promising to "stand up for the residents of this city."

Sánchez congratulated him. Said his victory showed "where the energy resides today—with those who offer hope, not fear."

Both these guys are on crusades to reduce their housing crises.

But here's the thing. They haven't identified the actual cause of the problem.

And when you don't understand the problem, your solutions make everything worse.

I've been in real estate for over 40 years. I know exactly what's wrong here.

They're Blaming the Wrong People

Sánchez claims Spain's property market has become a playground for greedy profiteers.

Says they're denying Spaniards their Constitutional right to housing by pricing them out.

So his "urgent and decisive" measures? Tighter sanctions on tourism rentals. Incentives for landlords to rent long-term.

Like a 100% rebate if you renew leases without raising rates.

He's pushing this through via Royal Decree. Doesn't even need parliamentary approval.

When you need royal decrees to bypass democracy, maybe your ideas are terrible.

Look at Their Track Record

This isn't Sánchez's first rodeo trying to fix housing.

Last year he killed the Golden Visa scheme. Used to give automatic Spanish residency to foreigners buying real estate worth at least €500,000.

Sounds tough on foreign buyers, right? Sounds like he's protecting Spaniards.

Except here's the reality. Golden Visa transactions accounted for less than 0.1% of property sales in Spain.

Point one percent.

Eliminating them will have literally zero impact on housing affordability.

But it sounds good politically.

The Ideas Get Even Dumber

Sánchez also proposed a 100% tax on non-EU citizens buying property.

Think about how insane that is for a second.

It discriminates in favor of the 14% of Spaniards who own second homes—highest percentage in all of Europe.

Most of those second homes sit empty except during summer.

But sure, let's punish foreigners who might actually use the property.

Fortunately this particular stupidity probably won't become law.

They're Wasting EU Money Too

Last April, Sánchez announced €1.3 billion of EU Covid recovery funds will build 15,000 new social housing units.

Claims it'll cut construction time by 60%.

Sounds great, right? Spain's social housing is only 3% of stock. Europe averages 9%.

But here's what he's not telling you.

The EU has repeatedly complained about Spain's complete lack of transparency and efficiency deploying these funds.

Money goes in. Results don't come out. Nobody knows where it went.

Classic government waste.

The Real Problem They're Ignoring

Tourism might have made Spain's housing problem a bit worse.

But it's not the root cause. Not even close.

Here's the actual problem. The gap between sluggish supply and explosive demand created a deficit of around 700,000 homes.

Seven hundred thousand missing homes.

That's why rental rates doubled. That's why house prices jumped 44% since 2020.

The Bank of Spain even identified it. Historically low construction levels are the key factor.

Spain only builds about 120,000 new homes yearly now. That's one-sixth of what they built before 2008. Just over half what they need to meet demand.

But instead of fixing that? They blame tourists.

The Tourist Scapegoat Is Easier

Residents in Barcelona, Málaga, and the islands are literally staging protests now.

Firing water pistols at visitors. Holding signs telling tourists to "go home."

Regional governments are trying to kill tourism. Hoping fewer visitors somehow make housing more affordable.

Málaga froze tourist rental licenses for three years.

Barcelona's mayor promised to eliminate all 10,000 holiday apartments by 2028.

Even though those apartments are less than 1% of the city's housing.

One percent.

But facts don't matter when you need a scapegoat.

Tourism Is Spain's Golden Goose

Here's what these idiots don't understand.

Tourism accounts for 13% of both Spain's GDP and employment.

Last year Spain attracted 97 million international visitors. Generated €135 billion in tourist spending.

And they want to kill that to fix a housing problem caused by not building enough houses?

That's not policy. That's economic suicide.

NYC's Making the Same Mistakes

Mamdani's walking the same tightrope in New York.

About 67% of New Yorkers are renters. Over half spend at least 30% of their income on rent every month.

His first-day executive orders? Reinstating the Office to Protect Tenants.

And who's running it? Cea Weaver.

An activist who called home-ownership a "weapon of white supremacy" back in 2017.

She says she regrets that tweet now. Deleted it.

But that tells you everything about her worldview.

Rent Control Never Works

Mamdani wants to freeze rates on the city's one million rent-stabilized properties.

That's 25% of New York's population living in those units.

Also wants to build 200,000 more "affordable" units over the next decade.

Here's what critics understand that he doesn't. Private investors won't build rent-controlled housing.

Can't make money? Won't invest. Simple as that.

And New York's public funds will get destroyed by his rent freeze.

You can't fund new construction by eliminating revenue from existing buildings.

Basic math.

The 2019 Disaster They're Repeating

Weaver helped create New York's Housing Stability and Tenants Protection Act of 2019.

Even the left is divided on whether she's a hero or too radical.

According to critics, that 2019 legislation didn't help tenants at all.

Made renovation completely unaffordable for landlords. So renters got trapped living in decaying, dangerous buildings.

Landlords can't afford to fix things. Can't raise rents to cover costs.

Buildings fall apart. Tenants suffer.

But hey, at least rent didn't go up.

The One Solution They Won't Try

Here's what neither Spain nor New York will do.

The one thing that would actually work.

Deregulate construction. Remove the barriers. Let builders build.

Spain could slash bureaucracy. Speed up permits. Remove restrictive zoning.

New York could do exactly the same thing.

Instead? Tourist taxes. Rent freezes. Royal Decrees. More task forces.

Everything except actually building more housing.

Why They Won't Do What Works

Because politically it's way easier to blame greedy landlords and tourists.

"Housing is a right" sounds better to voters than "we destroyed construction with our regulations."

Punishing profiteers polls better than admitting government broke the market.

So they'll keep intervening. Keep controlling. Keep mandating.

And housing will keep getting more expensive for everyone.

Supply and demand doesn't care about your politics or your feelings.

The Bottom Line Here

When the government creates a crisis through intervention, more intervention never fixes it.

Spain needs 700,000 more homes. Only builds 120,000 yearly.

The solution isn't attacking tourists or foreign buyers.

It's removing barriers and building more houses.

NYC's solution isn't rent control and freezes.

It's allowing construction without ten years of permits and environmental reviews.

This is simple economics. Known for centuries.

Ignored by socialists worldwide because the truth doesn't poll well.

Let's check back in a year and see how much worse both these places got.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Kiyosaki Uncensored 

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