Lawmakers say investors that scooped up hundreds of thousands of houses to rent out are driving up home prices

Wall Street went on a home-buying spree. Now, more lawmakers want to stop it from ever happening again.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House have sponsored legislation that would force large owners of single-family homes to sell houses to family buyers. A Republican’s bill in the Ohio state legislature aims to drive out institutional owners through heavy taxation.

Lawmakers in Nebraska, California, New York, Minnesota and North Carolina are among those proposing similar laws.

While homeowner associations for years have sought to stop investors from buying and renting out houses in their neighborhoods, the legislative proposals represent a new effort by elected officials to regulate Wall Street’s appetite for single-family homes.

These lawmakers say that investors that have scooped up hundreds of thousands of houses to rent out are contributing to the dearth of homes for sale and driving up home prices. They argue that investor buying has made it harder for first-time buyers to compete with Wall Street-backed investment firms and their all-cash offers.

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  • HubertManne@kbin.social
    1·
    7 months ago

    Yeah I would not mind that. From what I know from other people is you had to be on a list and it sorta rotated if all the slots were filled. Downside it would seem to me is if you had folks trying to keep it as rental property rather than a temporary situation. Also likely a bit harder to enforce compliance since some units are legitimately rented whereas in my situation folks would notice if you tried to rent it out. Its actually really restricted. Units can only be occupied if your on the lease or certain direct relatives like children.