By Shaina Mishkin
President Donald Trump wants to ban institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes in a bid to improve affordability.
The reasoning is that these big investors snap up properties, squeezing out regular home buyers who can't compete. But buyers in some states and metro areas would feel the difference more than others -- particularly where big investors are active.
Investors of all types represent a decent chunk of residential sales: 15.7% nationally in 2024, according to data provided by the National Association of Realtors.
But not all investors are big institutions. Once you strip out limited liability companies, which are often used by smaller investors, that share drops to 3.2% nationally.
Those big buyers that remain are corporations and companies, according to the trade group. And they're more active in some places than others.
"Investor activity varies widely across states, reflecting differences in housing supply, price points, rental demand, and tax or legal structures," the trade group said in research provided to Barron's.
Big buyers represented the greatest share of sales in northeastern states and Georgia, according to the data. Among the states that stand out for high shares of corporate home-buyers are Rhode Island, Connecticut, Georgia, and New York, the Realtors group wrote.
"These markets tend to be more supply-constrained or investor-oriented, which can amplify the visibility of institutional activity," the trade group said.
Certain metropolitan areas are particularly investor-heavy, other data show. Of the 20 metros with the most total single-family home purchases recorded in the nine months ended September 2025, so-called "mega investors" comprised 11% of sales in Atlanta, according to data provided by housing intelligence company Cotality. They also had a notable presence in Los Angeles, at 6%, and Riverside, Calif. and Seattle, at 5%.
The small share of large investors as a portion of total housing stock "suggests limited impact on affordability and likely reflects more political signaling than structural change," Jason Lewris, cofounder of housing and data analytics firm Parcl Labs, wrote Thursday. "Localized effects could be more meaningful in markets with heavier institutional concentration, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas, Charlotte, Tampa, and Houston. Outside of these markets, impacts are likely de minimis."
Investor purchases of single-family homes will continue to be an area of focus over the next several weeks after Trump on Wednesday said he wanted to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
Investors will hear more about Trump's housing plan when he speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month, he added. Investors will be watching for how the president defines institutional investors, which could include private-equity firms or hedge funds, as well as further details on other housing affordability initiatives.
Shares of real estate companies fell on the news Wednesday. Shares of the single-family rental companies Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent fell 6% and 4.3% respectively on Wednesday, while Blackstone, which is known for its involvement in single-family homes, ended the day 5.6% lower, Barron's previously reported.
On Thursday morning, all three stocks were rising. Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent were up 1% and 0.8%, respectively, while Blackstone was 0.9% higher.
In a statement to Barron's Wednesday, a Blackstone spokesperson noted that its "ownership of U.S. single-family homes represents about 2% of our real estate [assets under management] and 0.5% of the overall firm," and added that it has been a net seller of homes over the past decade.
The National Rental Home Council, a trade group for single-family rental home providers, said the industry "remains focused on supporting renters while also supporting pathways to homeownership," in a Wednesday statement to Barron's.
Clamping down on institutional buyers alone won't fix the difficult landscape for buying a home, Ermengarde Jabir, the Director of Economic Research at Moody's, said in a statement to Barron's.
"Ultimately, institutional participation is only one component of the housing landscape; substantial affordability improvements will require addressing broader pressures, including elevated mortgage rates and rising property maintenance costs."
Write to Shaina Mishkin at shaina.mishkin@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2026 12:01 ET (17:01 GMT)
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