Real estate speculators fueled the 2007 to 2009 recession with a wave of mortgage defaults – and now they're plundering New York like it's 2006 again. Speculators, who buy homes at below-market prices and resell within a year – often at hefty markups – bought more than 2,000 one-to four-family homes in New York City in 2017, capping steady increases since 2011, with no slowdown in sight.
