Should Congress bar big investors from buying single-family homes?

"President Donald Trump said recently on social media he would ask Congress to stop large investors and private equity firms from buying single-family homes. His plan did not have many details but echoed a common refrain across the U.S. that investors should not own homes and that they drive up prices. RELATED: Gov. Newsom plans crackdown on corporate homebuying in California Critics have argued the issue is overstated, with an estimated 4% of single-family rentals owned by institutional investors."

"Institutional investors should be banned from owning single-family homes. The American dream is built on homeownership, and every person in the United States should be able to work hard and afford a home. Institutional investors reduce the supply and increase home prices turning potential homeowners into lifelong renters. This, in the long run, will eliminate the average American's ability to build generational wealth and pass it on to their children."

"Investors have mixed effects on housing affordability. Families who cannot afford to buy benefit from renting in neighborhoods with strong schools. Investors can also stabilize markets during downturns, as they did after the financial crisis when prices collapsed. To improve affordability, limiting ownership by large investors in markets where they have pricing power would make more sense than an all-out ban. And if the goal is to increase housing supply and improve affordability, there are far better tools than investment restrictions."

A proposal would ask Congress to ban large investors and private equity firms from buying single-family homes. Data indicate institutional investors own a small share of single-family rentals—about 4%—and some regions, like San Diego County, have particularly low rates. Restricting large firms could be politically popular and might modestly affect prices if major buyers are stopped. One economist argues institutional ownership reduces supply, raises prices, and undermines homeownership and generational wealth. Another economist argues investors can benefit renters, stabilize markets during downturns, and favors targeted limits or supply-side solutions over an outright ban.

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