Trump Threatens to Bar Institutional Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes

President Donald Trump says he plans to take action to block large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, framing the move as a step to protect everyday Americans struggling to afford housing.

In a social media post Wednesday, Trump said he is “immediately taking steps” to prevent large investment firms from purchasing additional single-family homes and will ask Congress to codify the policy into law. “People live in homes, not corporations,” he wrote.

Large institutional investors — including major banks and investment firms — have increasingly bought up single-family homes in recent years, often converting them into rental properties. Their presence expanded significantly following the foreclosure crisis of the Great Recession, particularly in Sun Belt states, where housing demand and prices have surged.

The president’s comments had an immediate market impact. Shares of Blackstone, one of the largest players in the single-family rental market, fell sharply Wednesday following the announcement.

Trump said he will outline more details about his housing and affordability agenda in the coming weeks and plans to address the issue during an upcoming speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The proposal comes as the U.S. housing market remains under intense pressure. Home prices have climbed nearly 55% nationwide since early 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders, driven by limited inventory and mortgage rates that have remained above 6%. Many homeowners have been reluctant to sell, unwilling to give up the ultra-low mortgage rates they secured during the pandemic.

Data from the Government Accountability Office shows that while no investor owned more than 1,000 single-family rental homes in 2011, institutional investors collectively controlled as many as 300,000 homes by 2015. In cities such as Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Charlotte, large investors accounted for more than 15% of the single-family housing market by 2022.

Lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns that large-scale investor buying has pushed prices higher and crowded out individual buyers. However, some economists argue that banning institutional investors would do little to solve the broader housing shortage and could reduce the availability of rental homes.

“This will not fix housing affordability,” said Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at TD Cowen, noting that limiting investor purchases could shrink the supply of single-family rentals.

Whether Trump’s proposal gains traction in Congress — and how it would be implemented — remains to be seen.

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