Hostility towards private equity’s push into property is misguided

“VULTURES OUT” read one of the many placards young protesters waved at a recent rally in Dublin. The cause of their anger was spiralling rents in the Irish capital, pushed higher as the fastest growth in house prices in years has made renting more attractive. The sentiment is spreading. Private-equity firms, insurance companies, pension funds and other institutional investors that have snapped up residential property during the pandemic are becoming the butt of resentment in rich countries. As their share of the residential-property market has grown, so has the backlash. Some blame big landlords for soaring rents. Others accuse them of exploiting crisis for profit.Policymakers have been fast to . The White House wants to restrict the types of properties that large investors are allowed to buy. New Zealand has scrapped tax breaks for property investors, and Ireland has slapped a 10% tax on the bulk-buying of houses. Canada’s central bank says the role that big investors play in housing requires more scrutiny. In Germany Berlin’s residents voted in September to force their city’s biggest landlords to sell more than 200,000 flats to the state, though the referendum was non-binding and the constitutional court is expected to overturn the result if it becomes law. Spain’s left-wing government is the latest to unleash measures to deal with big landlords. Under new proposals, they will face rent controls, higher taxes on empty property and a ban on buying social housing.