Trump Announces Ban on Institutional Investors Buying Single-Family Homes

Trump Targets Corporate Home Buyers in Bid to Address Housing Affordability Crisis

President Trump announced Wednesday he will move to prohibit large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, marking a significant policy shift aimed at easing the nation’s housing affordability crisis.

While Trump did not outline specific implementation details, the initiative targets a trend that has accelerated over the past decade, during which major investment firms and private-equity companies have acquired hundreds of thousands of single-family properties.

“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It was the reward for working hard and doing the right thing, but now, because of the record high inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans.”

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Trump said he is “immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes” and will ask Congress to formalize the policy through legislation. “People live in homes, not corporations,” he wrote.

The president plans to discuss the ban and other affordability measures at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in two weeks.

Market Impact

Stock markets reacted swiftly to the announcement. Invitation Homes, the nation’s largest single-family home rental company, saw its shares drop 6%. Private-equity giants Blackstone and Apollo Global Management fell approximately 6% and 5%, respectively.

Invitation Homes and Apollo Global Management did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Rise of Corporate Homeownership

The trend began following the 2008 financial crisis, when plunging home prices created opportunities for major investment firms to purchase distressed properties in bulk at foreclosure sales.

Housing advocates contend that widespread corporate ownership reduces available housing supply and drives up prices, making homeownership less accessible to ordinary Americans.

According to CJ Patrick Co., investors of all sizes accounted for approximately 30% of single-family home purchases in early 2025, with larger institutional investors representing a smaller portion of that figure.

However, in certain markets, institutional investors control substantial shares of what were traditionally starter homes. During the pandemic, investment firms represented more than 20% of all home sales in cities including Houston, Miami, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

A 2024 US Government Accountability Office analysis found institutional investors owned 25% of rental homes in Atlanta and 18% in Charlotte.

Blackstone, led by Stephen Schwarzman, has been among the most prominent buyers, controlling more than 230,000 apartment units last year as the largest private-equity owner of US apartments, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

A Blackstone spokesperson told The Post the company has been reducing its holdings for the past decade, with its portfolio down more than 20%. “That said, we believe our current portfolio is poised to continue to perform quite well and operate at the highest standards for residents,” the spokesperson said.

Squeezing Out First-Time Buyers

These institutional investors often make all-cash offers, creating competitive disadvantages for first-time buyers who typically require mortgage financing.

Combined with reduced construction activity and pandemic-related pressures, these factors have pushed the national median single-family home price to $426,800 in the third quarter of 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors. Prices peaked at a record $435,300 during the summer.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate currently stands at 6.19%, according to Mortgage News Daily.

The squeeze on affordability is evident in demographic shifts: the median age for first-time homebuyers reached 40 in 2025, up from 38 in 2024 and 33 in 2020, NAR data shows. First-time buyers accounted for just 21% of all US home purchases in 2025—a new record low.

Questions About Implementation

Whether Trump can implement the ban without congressional approval remains uncertain.

“I understand the purpose is to remove corporate competition to keep home prices more affordable, and that is a good intention, but it will be very hard to execute,” Melissa Cohn, regional vice president of William Raveis Mortgage, told The Post.

The announcement is part of Trump’s broader effort to address cost-of-living concerns, including using tariff threats to pressure pharmaceutical companies on drug pricing, vowing similar pressure on oil and health insurance companies, urging the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates more aggressively, and calling for streamlined construction regulations.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​