The Hidden Cost of Holding: Why Kevin Seawright Says Inventory Hoarding is Hurting Housing Affordability

In Baltimore’s struggling housing market, Kevin Seawright has identified what he believes is one of the most overlooked barriers to affordable homeownership: property owners who hold vacant homes indefinitely, waiting for development opportunities while first-time buyers remain locked out.

Seawright, founder of RPS Solutions LLC, a mission-driven development firm focused on affordable housing in Baltimore’s urban core, argues that this “patient capital” approach has created artificial scarcity that drives up prices across the city.

“There’s so many people right now that are holding for in cities with, no matter whether it’s Baltimore, Philadelphia, anywhere else,” Seawright said during a recent interview. “They’re holding the real estate to always see what’s coming. And that’s a selfish play.”

Kevin Seawright Points to Policy Gaps Around Vacant Properties

The developer, who founded his company in 2015 and has been creating affordable homes for over 12 years, describes a common scenario: property owners purchase homes in urban neighborhoods, then leave them vacant for years while waiting for larger development projects or market shifts that might increase their value.

“You literally are just sitting around like you’ve done nothing with this home. It’s shuttered, it’s battered. It’s boards everywhere, and it’s been sitting this way for five, six years,” Seawright explained. “Well, you’re just waiting to see what happens, but it’s not doing anything for the neighborhood.”

The practice creates a cascading effect throughout Baltimore’s housing market. With fewer homes available for sale, competition among buyers intensifies, pushing prices beyond the reach of working families.

“The more inventory is out there, then you’d have to even out pricing,” Seawright said. “Without inventory, you have I don’t know 25 people trying to bid for one property.”

The Economics of Artificial Scarcity

Seawright’s critique touches on a broader economic principle: when supply is artificially constrained, prices rise regardless of demand fundamentals. In Baltimore, where the median household income is $59,623, even modest price increases can price out potential homeowners.

The developer sees this dynamic playing out daily in his work with first-time buyers. Many clients have stable incomes and decent credit but cannot compete with cash offers or bid wars driven by limited inventory.

“There’s a lot of people who want to own homes, but they have to have the capital to make that happen,” Seawright noted, emphasizing how inventory constraints compound other barriers to homeownership.

His company works primarily in neighborhoods like West Baltimore, where vacant properties are common. The area around Coppin University, where RPS Solutions has an ongoing project involving 40 to 50 houses in zip code 21216, exemplifies the challenge: scattered vacant homes interrupt efforts to create stable residential blocks.

Policy Solutions Kevin Seawright Advocates

While acknowledging the complexity of property rights, Seawright believes local governments need better tools to address long-term vacancy in residential neighborhoods.

“Obviously, it’s a catch-22, right? Like the person owns the home like you can’t just tell them what to do with it,” he said. “But at the same time there’s certain algorithms that you can see where it’s like, ‘All right, you literally are just sitting around.'”

He suggests that cities could track properties more systematically, identifying homes that remain vacant and unutilized for extended periods. While not advocating for seizure, Seawright believes policy makers should explore incentives and disincentives that encourage productive use of residential properties.

The State of Maryland and Baltimore have launched initiatives aimed at returning vacant homes to the market, efforts that Seawright’s company participates in. However, he argues these programs address symptoms rather than root causes.

“If governments and policy, you’re not seeing homes move in and you’re looking at titles, and then people are just sitting there, and you can’t tell whether they’re renting or whether they’re selling, I think there’s more conversations around like, how long do you allow that,” he said.

Market Forces vs. Community Needs

Seawright frames the inventory problem as a conflict between individual profit maximization and community stability. Property holders may have rational economic reasons for keeping homes vacant, but the cumulative effect undermines neighborhood development efforts.

“Some of our more patient capital individuals that continue to help tank the market,” he said, arguing that widespread holding patterns prevent organic market corrections that might make housing more affordable.

This dynamic particularly affects the communities where Seawright focuses his work. In neighborhoods recovering from decades of disinvestment, scattered vacant properties can undermine efforts to build stable residential blocks where families put down roots.

The developer emphasizes that homeownership creates positive spillover effects: owner-occupants typically invest more in property maintenance, support local businesses, and engage with schools and community organizations. When properties remain vacant, neighborhoods miss these benefits.

A Systemic Challenge Requiring Coordinated Response

Seawright characterizes Baltimore’s affordability crisis as requiring intervention from multiple stakeholders: government, financial institutions, and developers. However, he sees inventory constraints as a foundational issue that policy makers could address through better tracking and regulation of vacant properties.

“This is a systemic issue at this point,” he said. “This is not just Baltimore or just urban areas. It’s rural West wherever it is affordable. It’s just not affordable right now.”

The developer’s perspective reflects broader debates about housing policy in post-industrial cities. As Baltimore and similar cities work to revitalize neighborhoods, questions about balancing property rights with community needs become increasingly urgent.

For Seawright, who has spent more than a decade developing affordable housing, the solution starts with honest acknowledgment of how current policies enable practices that work against affordability goals.

“If you do the right thing, the right things will happen to you,” he said, suggesting that policy frameworks should encourage productive use of residential properties rather than rewarding speculative holding patterns that leave communities struggling with artificial scarcity.