not just landlords. Property owners as well. You extract wealth from the system either renting or paying your self rent. It’s just a matter of when you take those gains. Homeowners do when they sale.
As to why it’s unique to housing; you answered your own question: the housing market is arbitrarily limited in supply, which means it’s artificially low competition, which means people that own take an artificially high profit from owning. There are many rent seeking businesses, but housing is so universal and universally fucked that it accounts for by far the largest wealth transfer.
Everything I’ve written is true for housing now, but direct cash injections make it more apparent. See rent prices exploding after COVID stimulus.
As to why it’s unique to housing; you answered your own question: the housing market is arbitrarily limited in supply, which means it’s artificially low competition, which means people that own take an artificially high profit from owning. There are many rent seeking businesses, but housing is so universal and universally fucked that it accounts for by far the largest wealth transfer.
Everything I’ve written is true for housing now, but direct cash injections make it more apparent. See rent prices exploding after COVID stimulus.