Lawmakers say investors that scooped up hundreds of thousands of houses to rent out are driving up home prices

Wall Street went on a home-buying spree. Now, more lawmakers want to stop it from ever happening again.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House have sponsored legislation that would force large owners of single-family homes to sell houses to family buyers. A Republican’s bill in the Ohio state legislature aims to drive out institutional owners through heavy taxation.

Lawmakers in Nebraska, California, New York, Minnesota and North Carolina are among those proposing similar laws.

While homeowner associations for years have sought to stop investors from buying and renting out houses in their neighborhoods, the legislative proposals represent a new effort by elected officials to regulate Wall Street’s appetite for single-family homes.

These lawmakers say that investors that have scooped up hundreds of thousands of houses to rent out are contributing to the dearth of homes for sale and driving up home prices. They argue that investor buying has made it harder for first-time buyers to compete with Wall Street-backed investment firms and their all-cash offers.

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  • HubertManne@kbin.social
    3·
    6 months ago

    its an election system and you can actually call a vote by petition of residents. I get peoples feelings but there are options to stop gross negligence. Its tougher when the person is sorta annoying but not enough to go through the pain of getting rid of them or like people deciding to run themselves and do the work. Its unpaid work and in my experience the ones doing it are more put upon than those that don’t. With a few exceptions.