Diversification into multiple properties is (unfortunately) currently a dominant strategy for landlords vs. improving upon existing housing they own. It might make sense if most of the value of the asset comes from the actual land, not necessarily the building itself in major cities.

I get the sense from speaking with property-owning folks that landownership is predominantly about diversifying assets while waiting for the market value to grow (since market value growth will always outpace the increases in the rent you could incur by broadly improving living conditions).