{"id":543,"date":"2026-08-03T16:32:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=543"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:32:49","slug":"congress-curbs-institutional-investors-ownership-of-single-family-homes-we-looked-at-this-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=543","title":{"rendered":"Congress Curbs Institutional Investors\u2019 Ownership of Single-family Homes. We Looked At this Trend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last month, Congress overwhelmingly passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act\u2014legislation aiming to increase the supply and affordability of housing. It includes a restriction on institutional investors\u2019 purchases of certain single-family homes. We recently looked at trends involving institutional investors\u2019 buy-up of homes\u2014including how they affected some cities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Today\u2019s WatchBlog post looks at our report<\/a> on these trends.<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s the trend that led to concerns over institutional investors?\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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You may remember that back in 2007-2009 a large number of homes were in foreclosure. This was caused by the subprime mortgage meltdown. As foreclosure numbers increased, home values in a lot of communities tanked. But while prices were lower, fewer people were able to buy homes because of their financial situation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Enter\u2014the institutional investor. Large institutional investors (companies that own many homes) with money to spend leveraged their access to capital to purchase swaths of foreclosed homes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After purchasing homes, institutional investors converted them into rental properties. At the time (the 2010s), this \u201cbuy-up\u201d helped meet the growing demand for rental housing among those who couldn\u2019t afford to buy. Lots of families needed more rental options.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But the housing market looks very different today. Today, there are concerns that such investment could mean higher rents, higher home prices, and lower homeownership rates.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Where are institutional investors still growing?\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Nationally, institutional investors own about 3% of single-family homes. But some regions have a much heavier presence of institutional investors. This is particularly true in Sunbelt cities\u2014such as Atlanta, Jacksonville, or Charlotte. These areas were also, in many cases, hit hard with foreclosures after the financial crisis.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And in recent years the number of single-family rental homes owned by institutional investors has increased in some metro areas. This trend has leveled off recently. But between 2018 and 2024, we found that:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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