The agents agree that the only way rents will go down is if there's a flood of new units on the market. Rents have gone down before. When the 1980's went bust, flashy condominium towers ended up being rented out while their developers went through bankruptcy. Co-op boards relaxed the rules on renting because owners couldn't sell. But when Wall Street recovered and the economy turned around, the market got tight and rents went through the roof.
Brokers make money when people move, so they're in favor of any loosening of the market.
In laissez-faire capitalism, yes. But after 40 years, there would be chaos in this city. There would be homelessness. Actually, Mr. Thomas worries that a modified deregulation would just gum up everything with an all new bureaucracy, so he favors getting rid of rent control and keeping something like the current stabilization rules. He's not in favor of regulations that take income into account.