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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  • SoylentBlakeEnglish
    11·
    6 months ago

    Goddamn I fucking hate how extortionate our tax system is.

    You renovate raises HIS taxes? That is such a crock of shit, I don’t think I could resist punching the tax assessor, I’ll take the night in jail, thanks. Worth it.

    Imo taxe should be assessed on a property when it changes hands, and then and only then. If someone buys up undeveloped land and brings the amenities out for themselves, they shouldnt be penalized for spreading civilization. If I build myself a 14ft high wisteria/grape tunnel, that shouldn’t be leveraged against me to extract my money, that’s as unethical as it fucking gets. That is institutionalized injustice.