Obviously there has to be an incentive for Jim-bob to tie up his retirement savings and credit worthiness in a house that he doesn’t live in. You may not like the fact that people have to qualify for bank loans to buy property, but this is the world we live in.

Obviously if I think landlords are a leech on society, then I must also be in favor of free property for everyone! There's no issue with having to qualify for a loan for a house, but don't piss in my shoes and call it rain. All landlords do is drive up the price of living for someone who could have potentially bought the house they're renting. If they're able to rent it, then they're clearly able to afford the mortgage payments, upkeep, taxes, etc. Plus extra to support the living expenses of the owner.

Oh, your anecdotal evidence about your parent’s home surely beats my Nobel-prize winning economics study citation.

I sure missed any citations in your post. Unless you think just naming a publication counts as citing it.

Because I have anecdotal evidence for someone who bought a house for $400k in 2004 and then later sold it for $280k after the real estate crash.

cool story bro. There's always cases of people losing out because they buy high and sell low, but in your anecdote, what would the $400,000 home be worth today had the homeowner held onto the property? There is no stock portfolio that would appreciate in value the same way houses have.

No, you get different scam calls which you assume are the same but are definitely not, since these ones just go out to names on lists of property owners, not random residents.

Tell me more about the phone calls I receive and how they're not 'real' scam calls.