Actually it’s infinite! I say this based on my introducing news from Argentina to the folks over at The Standard and seeing the responses:

First the news, Javier Milei Got Rid of Rent Control in Argentina. Housing Supply Skyrocketed:

Since Millei’s repeal of rent control laws took effect on December 29, the supply of rental housing in Buenos Aires has jumped by 195.23%, according to the Statistical Observatory of the Real Estate Market of the Real Estate College (CI).
…
“Milei cut rent control and other tenancy regulations. The result confirmed economic theory: the supply of rental accommodation is surging, and rents have fallen,” said Ryan Bourne, chair for the public understanding of economics at Cato.

Well Duh!. Some indications of what was happening in Argentina were already apparent some months ago and were contrasted nicely with the situation in Paris, Two glimpses of life for renters:

When I arrived in Paris this summer, I found the rental market to be a byzantine black box of inefficiency. I started looking in August. At the twilight of the year, I have finally — with the help of a facilitator — visited a whopping four apartments out of more than 50 inquiries, and I have been rejected by all four, because I don’t quite check the right boxes. Why is it so difficult to secure a lease in Paris? I am a victim of strong consumer-protection laws. Any decent student in a micro-principles class can tell you that interventions have unintended consequences.  Here are some of the “protections” from which I am suffering…

But when I posted the first link in a comment over at The Standard, I got these two replies from long-time members, “SPC”, and “Joe90”:

Difficult economic times lead to fundraising – such as the pawning of goods, renting out of rooms/taking in boarders as well. – SPC
…
Where did these newly available rental units come from? Were they vacant because the rent control discouraged rentals? Did landlords evict a shed load of long term tenants? – Joe90

Because of the extreme moderation over there I didn’t bother getting into a fight about and I provided the link so they could read it themselves.

But I would point out to “SPC” that “difficult economic times” have been the case for several years now, so difficult that an actual Libertarian economist, Milei, got elected. But the change didn’t happen back during those times, only after the law changed.

And I would point out to “Joe90” that while they were indeed vacant because rent control discouraged rentals, the implication I take from his question is that he still believes in rent control and that extra measures would be needed to force those empty places to be rented: more controls to fix the problems created by the first controls.

What I enjoyed about this was that all these comments came in a post by a Marxist titled, Is a Transformational Left-Wing Leadership of the NZ Labour Party Possible? – which woeful conclusion was that it was not possible (Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn as examples) and that a new Socialist Party is needed in New Zealand.

I did also point out to them the litany of Socialist political failure on that front in the West, as well the failure of other societies when such Socialists have taken power, but I’m sure they no more wanted to listen to that than to reasons why getting rid of rent controls made life better for renters.

And the cherry on top is this latest news:

“Economic activity rose 1.3 percent from April, above the 0.1 percent median estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey and the first month of growth since Milei’s term began in December,” Bloomberg reported on July 18. “From a year ago, the proxy for gross domestic product grew 2.3 percent.”…. The 2.3 percent year-over-year increase defied expectations of a decline of similar magnitude, Bloomberg reported. As Semafor notes, the Argentine economy was projected to have the least economic growth of any country in the world in 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The positive economic report, based on data from the Argentine government, is a surprise to many.
…Many doubted that these successes were possible, and the conventional wisdom said that wringing inflation out of the economy and slashing government spending could only be achieved at great cost: a deepening recession.

To be fair these resulst are better than even his supporters had dared to hope for. I wonder who the “many” were?

The former head of the International Monetary Fund’s Western Hemisphere Department, Alejandro Werner, said Milei’s strategy could tame inflation, but at great cost. “A deep recession will also take place,” Werner wrote, “as the fiscal consolidation kicks in and as the decline in household income depresses consumption and uncertainty weighs on investment.”

Felix Salmon, the chief financial correspondent at Axios, concurred, comparing Milei’s policies to “a wrecking ball…Milei’s budget cuts will cause a plunge in household income, as well as a deep recession,” wrote Salmon.
…
Even before Milei’s policies were given a chance to succeed, many continued to attack them. “Shock therapy is pushing more people into poverty,” journalist Lautaro Grinspan wrote in Foreign Policy in early March. “Food prices have risen by roughly 50 percent, according to official government data.”

Actually that last critic was quoting data from December 2023 about what was happening on the previous government’s watch.

And our Reserve Bank, plus commentators Left and Right, might care to note that inflation has been greatly reduced without inducing a recession!