Lawmakers Target Wall Street's Single-Family Home Ownership

Wall Street firms spent billions aggressively acquiring single-family homes, with over one in four properties going to wealthy corporations in 2022. Institutional investors, including wealth managers and pension funds such as CalPERS and Invesco, earmarked $110 billion for single-family rentals, with $30 billion designated for new development capable of constructing 400,000 new homes, as reported by The Real Deal.

Firms argue they provide rental options in desirable neighborhoods. However, lawmakers, including Texas Gov.

Greg Abbott, contend investor purchases, often with all-cash offers, exacerbate an unaffordable housing market characterized by high mortgage rates and low inventory for first-time homebuyers. Despite broad bipartisan public support for such legislation, none of the proposed bills have yet reached a floor vote in Congress or state houses, according to The Wall Street Journal.