Sure, all those middlemen share some blame, but the big bucks and blame rests firmly with the buyers. They could always have rented if shelter were the only issue. Even the dumb ones were speculating, and they knew it, and now they want to shine the spotlight somewhere else.
I second that. Even the much heralded strawberry picker in the Bay Area isn’t innocent. They all were depending on a refi in the future to keep it affordable.
That said, there will be a few that were genuinely lied to about what they were getting, but it is pittance of people compared to the masses that willingly gambled on the great bubble.