A bipartisan Senate duo is teaming up on legislation that would ban large investment firms from snapping up single-family homes, a measure they say is aimed at the country's housing affordability crunch.

The legislation, known as the Homes for American Families Act, would amend the landmark Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 to make it illegal for investment funds with over $150 million in assets to buy single-family homes, condominiums or townhouses. It doesn’t apply to homebuilders that are constructing units for sale.

  • Asafum@lemmy.world
    41·
    19 hours ago

    Bipartisan because they know it’s just a feel good thing that will do nothing.

    “institutional investors own a very small slice of single-family homes in the United States. As the chief economist at the real estate platform Redfin, Fairweather says investors purchase about 17% of homes. But most of those purchases are by mom-and-pop investors, not big firms like Blackstone. Institutional investors just don’t own enough homes to be the main culprit for high home prices.”

    The U.S. homeownership rate is around 65%. As of December 2022, the five largest investors owned about 300,000 homes — just under 2% of single-family rental homes nationally. Institutional investors own roughly 2% to 25% of single-family rentals in major markets. (The “mom and pop” investors, your neighbor with 3+ houses)

    https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2025/09/09/g-s1-87699/private-equity-corporate-landlords

    Also in that article, Erb is a piece of shit. “It’s everyone’s fault but mine. I’m just offering a service!” Fuck you Erb.

    • thisorthatorwhatever@lemmy.world
      3·
      19 hours ago

      Institutional investors own roughly 2% to 25% of single-family rentals

      2% seems like a large number, that is 1 out of every 50 homes. That’s 1 house on every street.
      25% just seems insanely large.

      • Asafum@lemmy.world
        31·
        18 hours ago

        They state, and I made italic, that the number over 2% are all “mom and pop” investors. Those that would be nowhere near the $150 million limit the law would affect.