With VRBO and other sharing apps, yes that house in Tahoe is rental stock.

Short-term rentals aren't housing.

Yes, they are, but short-term, and it takes longer-term housing off the market. This is ravaging the housing markets of many mountain villages.

Re-reading the comment I was originally replying to, the commenter might have meant that the 2nd home didn't justify a tax deduction, which I would most definitely agree with. A 2nd home is an investment, and there should be no tax incentives on that sort of investment.

Well in the states, a first home is already often a person's biggest investment.

Sure, but in silicon valley one thing to do with your smalltime IPO winnings is buy a house and rent out your old one to someone who has yet to hit paydirt. Maybe part of what pushes prices up, but I like to think my renters are getting a better deal than they would from old-man Irvine. (The incentives to play this game are razor-thin, mostly down to tax advantages.)