President Trump’s Crackdown on Institutional Investors Will Unlock Homeownership
Key Findings
- Home prices and interest rates soared during the Biden administration, putting homeownership out of reach for many households.
- Institutional investors are crowding out working families.
- In some cities, institutional investors own up to 25 percent of single-family rental homes.
- Corporate ownership drives up home prices and restricts supply.
Overview
Homeownership has always been an essential element of the American Dream. Owning a home is a form of freedom from the instability of renting, and a way for average families to build wealth that can be passed down to their children. Unfortunately, homeownership is increasingly out of reach for many American families.
The cost of homeownership surged during the Biden administration. In 2020, the median home price was $338,600.1 But by the end of 2024, the median home price had risen to $419,300—a 24 percent increase in just four years.2
The Biden administration’s inflationary policies caused interest rates to soar from 2.7 percent in January 2021 to seven percent in January 2025, reaching a high of nearly eight percent in October 2024.3 As a result, the median monthly mortgage payment doubled from 2020 to 2024.4
The median home price is currently $410,800, and the median monthly mortgage payment, assuming a 20 percent down payment with a 30-year mortgage is $2,198.5-6 Property taxes and insurance drive the monthly cost of homeownership even higher.7 Nearly 75 percent of households cannot afford the mortgage on a median-priced home.8
Those fortunate enough to have bought their home prior to the surge in cost are now less likely to move, which constricts supply.9 Currently, individuals are remaining in their homes without selling for an average of 12 years, double the time that the average homeowner stayed in the early 2000s.10 It is estimated that the extreme spike in interest rates from 2022 to 2024 prevented 1.72 million home sales over the course of two years.11 If interest rates had remained low, home sales would have been doubled.12
Even though interest rates have dipped since President Trump has taken office, persistent low supply continues to be a problem. Americans’ demand outpaces supply by 4.7 million homes.13
One factor exacerbating low supply and high prices is large institutional investors buying single-family homes and crowding out American families in cities across the country.
Institutional investors are crowding out working families
In 2011, no company owned more than 1,000 single-family homes.14 But by 2022, more than 450,000 single-family homes were owned by institutional investors—companies owning 1,000 or more properties.15 The five largest institutional investors owned more than 300,000 single-family homes.16Real estate investors purchased 33 percent of single-family homes sold in the second quarter of 2025.17
A review of 500 counties across the country found that 8.9 percent of residential properties were owned by corporate investors.18 Institutional investors intentionally target fast-growing metropolitan areas and focus their efforts on specific communities in order to manage properties more efficiently.19 In fast-growing communities concentrated in the south, these investors own a shocking percentage of homes.20
In Atlanta, where 25 percent of the single-family rental market is owned by institutional investors, the presence of concentrated corporate ownership is responsible for 25 percent of the decline in homeownership among Atlanta-metro neighborhoods.21
Buying a home in a competitive real estate market is already a difficult task for families that may be able to afford the mortgage, but do not have a large reserve of cash for a down payment. Competing against corporations that can make all-cash offers is an uphill battle that most families will lose.
Institutional investors are contributing to homes being unaffordable
Not only are institutional investors buying homes that could have otherwise been purchased by a family, but their presence in a real estate market drives up home prices. When an institutional investor buys a foreclosed property, nearby home prices increase 1.4 percent in total value more than properties that are further away.22 The effect is even more significant when looking at houses that are similar to ones purchased by institutional investors and the least expensive neighborhoods in a geographic area.23
In the same markets that are saturated by institutional investor-owned homes, prices are rising, and homeownership is increasingly unaffordable. For example, in Franklin County, Ohio, 20 percent of residential properties are owned by corporations.24 In this county, home prices have increased by nearly 50 percent since 2020.25 In Clarke County, Georgia, 19 percent of properties are owned by corporations, and prices have increased nearly 60 percent.26-27
President Trump has issued an executive order to crack down on institutional investors
President Trump has recognized institutional investors as one of the factors contributing to the rising cost of homeownership and in January 2026, President Trump issued an executive order to crack down on these corporations taking over neighborhoods.28
This executive order directs federal agencies to issue guidance preventing government entities from facilitating the purchase of a single-family home by an institutional investor if that home could otherwise be purchased by an owner-occupant.29 It also directs agencies to develop guidance that would promote sales to individuals and families through first-look policies, disclosure requirements, and anti-circumvention provisions.30 Another provision asks the Federal Trade Commission to review purchases by institutional investors for anti-competitive impacts on housing markets.31
Lastly, the executive order calls on Congress to codify the policies outlined in the order.32
The Bottom Line: Homeownership is a critical part of achieving the American Dream. Congress should follow President Trump’s lead and stop large institutional investors from crowding out American families.
Owning a home is the hallmark of the American Dream for good reason. Homeownership builds wealth and equity that can be passed down to future generations, and creates stable, connected neighborhoods. Unfortunately, due to the record-high inflation and interest rate spikes during the Biden administration, homeownership is increasingly impossible for many families. Institutional investors able to make more competitive, all-cash offers on homes, crowd out average families.
The data shows that when corporate ownership of homes increases in a given community, homeownership rates fall.33 Stopping the largest institutions from buying single-family homes will stop the constriction of supply and slow the trend of skyrocketing prices, opening the door to homeownership for more Americans.
To level the playing field and give families a chance at homeownership, President Trump has taken action to end the growing trend of institutional investors purchasing thousands of homes. This is an important step toward making homeownership more accessible for more families, and Congress should act to codify this policy.
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