Charles Hugh Smith – It’s an old story, manifesting now in new ways. The rich, buoyed by inherited wealth and access to credit, find a locale with the qualities they desire, and buy the choicest properties for their own use, and a surrounding band of nearby properties so they won’t be bothered by the bottom 99%.

This story has a new far more destructive chapter, generated by the boom in STVRs–short-term vacation rentals. The uber-wealthy don’t need more money but they’re trained, like hamsters in a lab, to seek ways to maximize their income and capital gains. STVRs–Airbnb et al.–are highly attractive investments to the wealthy and their money-managers–the hedge funds, private equity managers, family-wealth advisors, et al. Continue reading →