Trump Moves to Bar Institutional Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes Amid Affordability Push
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his administration is moving to bar institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, a step he said is intended to address housing affordability and limit corporate influence in the residential housing market as prices continue to rise nationwide.
Trump said the proposal is aimed at ensuring homeownership remains accessible to families rather than large financial firms. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “People live in homes, not corporations,” framing the initiative as a measure to protect what he described as the American dream of homeownership.
The policy would target large institutional investors that have amassed significant portfolios of single-family homes in recent years. Trump specifically pointed to firms such as Blackstone, which have acquired tens of thousands of properties, a trend critics say has intensified competition for individual buyers and driven up prices in certain markets. Shares of Blackstone (BX) fell up to 5% in midday trading on Wednesday following comments by President Trump.
The president revealed the plan after signaling last month that he was preparing what he described as “some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history,” indicating a broader effort to address cost-of-living pressures. He said the proposed ban would initially be implemented through executive action, while also calling on Congress to codify the policy into law to make it permanent.
Administration officials said the policy would likely focus on entities that own more than a specified number of single-family homes. They said the approach could involve tax penalties or outright restrictions on future purchases, though specific thresholds and enforcement mechanisms have not yet been announced.
The proposal aligns with Trump’s campaign promises to curb corporate influence in the housing market. According to reports cited by the administration, institutional buyers currently own about 1 percent of single-family homes nationwide, though their presence is more concentrated in certain metropolitan areas, including cities such as Atlanta and Phoenix.
Trump said he plans to discuss the housing proposal, along with other cost-of-living initiatives, during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, presenting it as part of his economic agenda for a second term. Housing advocates have welcomed the focus on affordability, arguing that corporate buying has made it harder for families to compete in some markets. At the same time, some economists have cautioned that restricting institutional investment could reduce the supply of rental housing or discourage investment in new construction.
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