Sadly, there's a strange knock-on effect of all the professional landlords: Instead of aspiring to own a family home, a lot of millennials aspire to become landlords, either by buying big and renting part of the space, or by buying small and using it as a springboard to buy bigger and rent the original place. It's a vicious cycle, especially since they often don't have the capital to easily absorb damage or maintenance costs, leading to the properties deteriorating rapidly.