President Trump announces steps to bar large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, citing affordability concerns for younger Americans.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump announced the United States is moving to bar major institutional investors from buying more single-family homes.
“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday.
He stated this goal is “increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans.”
“It is for that reason, and much more, that I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it,” Trump wrote.
“People live in homes, not corporations.”
He said he planned to discuss the topic and other affordability proposals in a speech at the upcoming Davos World Economic Forum.
Trump faces growing voter frustration over affordability despite efforts to dismiss it as a Democratic “hoax.”
This has sparked Republican fears they could be punished in the 2026 midterm elections.
While widespread inflation has not surged since new tariffs were rolled out, companies report higher business costs.
Analysts note a divergence where higher-income households are doing well but lower-income ones struggle.
Within housing, median sales prices for previously owned homes have been climbing.
National Association of Realtors data showed the median cost for existing homes was USD 409,200 in November.
That figure is up 1.2% from a year prior.
Top Democrat on the Senate banking committee Elizabeth Warren urged Trump to take action after his post.
“Trump should start with getting his own party in the House to support a bipartisan bill to bring down housing costs that passed the Senate unanimously,” she said.
“And Congress should work on legislation to stop corporate investors from buying up homes,” Warren added.
Shares in residential real estate investor Blackstone closed around 5.6% lower.
Other housing-related companies also saw their shares fall after the announcement.
