Trump wants to ban investors from buying single-family homes
President Donald Trump announced that he plans to ban large institutional investors from purchasing additional single-family homes, aiming to make homeownership more attainable for Americans, News.Az reports, citing The Independent.
“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream,” Trump wrote Wednesday on his Truth Social platform, later adding, “that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people.”
“It is for that reason, and much more, that I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations,” Trump added.
Trump said he would discuss the subject and other proposals related to affordability in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in two weeks.
Large institutional investors, such as Blackstone, have bought up thousands of family homes since the financial crisis of 2008 led to increased foreclosures. These investors often buy and rent out homes, which critics say has reduced housing supply and dramatically inflated rent across the country.
Following the president’s social media post, shares of Blackstone fell by as much as 9 percent, CNN reported.
The asset management giant has built one of the largest rental housing portfolios in the country in recent years, according to CNBC.
However, the firm has rejected the notion that its investments have stoked inflation and diminished the housing supply. Blackstone told CNBC in July that it owns less than one percent of the 46 million rental homes in the country.
While it was unclear how Trump could limit institutional investors’ purchases of single-family homes through executive action, several states, including New York, have taken legal steps to slow investors from scooping up homes.
News of Trump’s plans to stop large institutional investors from buying up homes comes as he faces mounting pressure to deliver on his campaign promise to lower the high cost of living, particularly ahead of the November midterm elections.
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