[2][further explanation needed] The Great Depression of the 1930s and 40s resulted, in part, due to major devaluation of capital and labor concluding in massive unemployment.
Unlike conventional commodities, which depreciate over time and compel capitalists to liquidate surpluses to avert stagnation, housing typically appreciates in market value.
This upward trajectory incentivizes the accumulation and hoarding of property and land, allowing capital to remain immobilized in these assets without the imminent risk of devaluation.
Consequently, housing escapes the cyclical pressures of surplus production and market collapse that characterize other sectors, enabling speculative investment to persist and flourish—often at the expense of societal needs.
Unlike productive assets grounded in socially necessary labor, fictitious capital inflates housing values beyond their material basis, fostering speculative markets driven by profit maximization rather than genuine demand.