President Donald Trump announced Wednesday a sweeping new housing policy that would ban large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, a move the administration says is designed to protect families and first-time buyers from being pushed out by Wall Street-backed firms.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump declared that “People live in homes, not corporations,” signaling immediate executive action while urging Congress to codify the ban into federal law. The proposal comes amid growing frustration over housing affordability and the expanding role of corporate investors in residential real estate.
The policy targets what the administration describes as “large institutional investors,” including private equity firms and Wall Street-backed real estate companies that have amassed thousands of single-family homes nationwide. These firms often convert the properties into long-term rentals, a practice critics argue reduces inventory for individual buyers and drives up prices in already tight markets.
Trump’s announcement sent immediate ripples through financial markets. Shares tied to major housing investment firms, including Blackstone and Invitation Homes, fell sharply following the news, reflecting investor concern over potential limits on future acquisitions. (RELATED: Economic Indicators Point to Strength as U.S. Enters Its 250th Year)
Large institutional buyers typically hold significant advantages over individual homebuyers, including access to deep pools of capital, the ability to make all-cash offers, and the scale to purchase multiple properties at once. Those advantages often place families at a disadvantage in bidding wars for starter homes, particularly in fast-growing metro areas.
Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis shows that investor ownership of single-family rental homes has increased steadily over the past decade. While still a minority of the overall market, the Fed notes that concentrated investor ownership can meaningfully influence prices and availability in certain regions.
Federal housing data underscores the scale of corporate involvement. A 2021 joint study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau found that 15 percent of rental properties were owned by entities such as LLCs, LLPs, or LPs. Those entities controlled more than 40 percent of rental units overall and nearly 68 percent of units in properties with 100 or more units.
Supporters of Trump’s proposal argue that limiting corporate ownership of single-family homes would strengthen community stability and economic opportunity. Research consistently shows that owner-occupied housing is linked to stronger neighborhood engagement, greater long-term investment, and increased wealth-building for families.
A report from the Government Accountability Office found that growth in institutional single-family rentals, particularly in Sun Belt cities, has been associated with rising rents and constrained housing supply. The administration argues that curbing this trend could ease both home prices and rental costs nationwide. (RELATED: Historic Decline in U.S. Murder Rates Marks Major Public Safety Shift in 2025)