Deregulate doesn't work when people won't sell. What do you do when highly wealthy people buy property and then never sell? You can't simply slash all of the regulations because regulations aren't the reason why they're not selling.
In fact, they're not selling because of market dynamics. Their property is becoming more valuable over time because no one else is selling, which means any property that does sell does so at an extreme premium. If you were an investor: Would you sell off your stock when your stock is performing strongly and continually growing?
Make no mistake. There is no free market happening here.
> What do you do when highly wealthy people buy property and then never sell?
Tax them. Inefficient use of land is a good sign that the property tax is too low. If the government charged a property tax rate that roughly matched the property value increase, there would be no gain just by sitting on the property. You'd have to put the land to productive use to actually make a profit.
In fact, they're not selling because of market dynamics. Their property is becoming more valuable over time because no one else is selling, which means any property that does sell does so at an extreme premium. If you were an investor: Would you sell off your stock when your stock is performing strongly and continually growing?
Make no mistake. There is no free market happening here.