Investors Steering Clear Of Maryland Suburbs Due To Regulatory Concerns

[Anonymous]

I work in real estate finance and think rent control is dumb and “affordable housing” is mostly a racket - astronomical cost to build, expensive for taxpayers and great if you manage to land a unit but it’s a lottery. Oh but its a pretty good deal for developers who can overcharge, underdeliver and also get valuable tax credits. These things ultimately drive up the cost of housing, which is the opposite of what proponents claim to want. But for lots of ideologues I don’t think they care about results so much as just seeming to care about the issue. I live in MoCo and am fine with fewer multifamily buildings here. The truth is, there’s loads of areas in the dmv with lots of space to build more. Our local governments should tackle crime and quality of life issues to make all areas more livable and appealing instead of endlessly trying to make a handful of places more and more dense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is great news. MoCo is dense enough as is. Enough with just letting developers do whatever they want.

+1. It’s already a parking mess. Can’t imagine what additional multi- unit dwellings will bring. They rarely include additional parking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

Are you sure? I didn't think Gaithersburg or Rockville opted out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

For this to be true, economists everywhere must be wrong. Rent control is negative in the long term. It was just passed, so even if your facts are true (I have no idea if they are) it is way too early to declare victory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

For this to be true, economists everywhere must be wrong. Rent control is negative in the long term. It was just passed, so even if your facts are true (I have no idea if they are) it is way too early to declare victory.

Not economists everywhere. Just the ones you choose to read. The other factor is that rent control isn’t binary. The policies differ.

For the other poster, Rockville and Gaithersburg have to pass their own laws. They haven’t done that.

Rent control has done better so far than 20 years of supply side policy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

For this to be true, economists everywhere must be wrong. Rent control is negative in the long term. It was just passed, so even if your facts are true (I have no idea if they are) it is way too early to declare victory.

Not economists everywhere. Just the ones you choose to read. The other factor is that rent control isn’t binary. The policies differ.

For the other poster, Rockville and Gaithersburg have to pass their own laws. They haven’t done that.

Rent control has done better so far than 20 years of supply side policy.

Read the Stanford study linked above. Definitely not put out by conservatives and mentions the generally negative view of rent control, confirms the general view in their study findings, and then suggests other potential solutions.

[Anonymous]

It would be so ironic if the YIMBYs stymied development because of their advocacy of rent stabilization.

But if the rent stabilization law marks the end of the constant development, I'm thrilled. We don't need more multifamily housing development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

Lot’s of opinions and assumptions but very little real knowledge in that post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is great news. MoCo is dense enough as is. Enough with just letting developers do whatever they want.

+1. It’s already a parking mess. Can’t imagine what additional multi- unit dwellings will bring. They rarely include additional parking.

+2 The multi-unit dwellings are all pushed into the same parts of Moco and reduces the standard of living in those places. Not to mention they usually put up ugly crap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

For this to be true, economists everywhere must be wrong. Rent control is negative in the long term. It was just passed, so even if your facts are true (I have no idea if they are) it is way too early to declare victory.

Not economists everywhere. Just the ones you choose to read. The other factor is that rent control isn’t binary. The policies differ.

For the other poster, Rockville and Gaithersburg have to pass their own laws. They haven’t done that.

Rent control has done better so far than 20 years of supply side policy.

Read the Stanford study linked above. Definitely not put out by conservatives and mentions the generally negative view of rent control, confirms the general view in their study findings, and then suggests other potential solutions.

That wasn’t a link to a study. It was a link to a story about a study from 8 years ago that considered rent control laws not too similar to the one here. There’s more debate and nuance to this question than you care to admit, and the supply side approach yielded an increasingly dysfunctional market that came to be dominated by cartels, some of whom were colluding with each other to suppress inventory and inflate rents.

[Anonymous]

Can Fairfax county pass a rent control ordinance too? This seems like a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

For this to be true, economists everywhere must be wrong. Rent control is negative in the long term. It was just passed, so even if your facts are true (I have no idea if they are) it is way too early to declare victory.

Not economists everywhere. Just the ones you choose to read. The other factor is that rent control isn’t binary. The policies differ.

For the other poster, Rockville and Gaithersburg have to pass their own laws. They haven’t done that.

Rent control has done better so far than 20 years of supply side policy.

Where has rent control been a success?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

For this to be true, economists everywhere must be wrong. Rent control is negative in the long term. It was just passed, so even if your facts are true (I have no idea if they are) it is way too early to declare victory.

Not economists everywhere. Just the ones you choose to read. The other factor is that rent control isn’t binary. The policies differ.

For the other poster, Rockville and Gaithersburg have to pass their own laws. They haven’t done that.

Rent control has done better so far than 20 years of supply side policy.

Read the Stanford study linked above. Definitely not put out by conservatives and mentions the generally negative view of rent control, confirms the general view in their study findings, and then suggests other potential solutions.

I was a PP with links, and there are many other articles out there. The YImBys are hilarious because can’t demonstrate much public support, so they make up reasons why it can’t ever be shown, but TRUST THEM, it exists somewhere. They have weak science, they have weak economics.

This is why you see them babble on about “it’s economics 101,”. Because that as far as they got.

It’s a scam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not “Maryland Suburbs” it’s Montgomery County. And it’s not “regulatory concerns” it’s rent control.

It has nothing to do with the new law limiting rent increases. That law exempts new/recent construction.

Actually the rent control law is a large part of the problem.

https://montgomeryperspective.com/2025/09/19/more-evidence-that-rent-control-is-preventing-housing-construction/

Yup.

Parts of the rest of Maryland also have rent control! Within Montgomery County, Rockville and Gaithersburg don’t have rent control. If this market were ripe for more multifamily, permitting would be through the roof in those places because they’re the only places in the county you can build rentals without rent control (23 years from now).

Rents have fallen in Montgomery County since the rent control regulations have taken effect. That’s a hard fact for those opposed to it. Was that all rent control? Of course not. In that time, more landlords settled price fixing cases with the government, and the local economy has weakened. But rent control is a part of the story because it banned very high rent increases, which were distorting the average rent statistics.

Rent control has probably also helped force landlords make repairs because of special restrictions on rent increases at troubled properties. Invariably; the landlords screaming the loudest about the law have troubled properties or near-troubled properties. They’re not good actors in the market. If your business plan depends on annual rent increases exceeding 6 percent a year, you never were going to build enough housing to make prices go down.

I was a skeptic of the county’s rent control law when it was introduced but the landlords have proven it necessary and time has proven it effective.

For this to be true, economists everywhere must be wrong. Rent control is negative in the long term. It was just passed, so even if your facts are true (I have no idea if they are) it is way too early to declare victory.

Not economists everywhere. Just the ones you choose to read. The other factor is that rent control isn’t binary. The policies differ.

For the other poster, Rockville and Gaithersburg have to pass their own laws. They haven’t done that.

Rent control has done better so far than 20 years of supply side policy.

Read the Stanford study linked above. Definitely not put out by conservatives and mentions the generally negative view of rent control, confirms the general view in their study findings, and then suggests other potential solutions.

I was a PP with links, and there are many other articles out there. The YImBys are hilarious because can’t demonstrate much public support, so they make up reasons why it can’t ever be shown, but TRUST THEM, it exists somewhere. They have weak science, they have weak economics.

This is why you see them babble on about “it’s economics 101,”. Because that as far as they got.

It’s a scam.

To add, not journal articles, academic.