Trump threatens to ban Wall Street from buying the house next door

Trump said the federal government will move to ban institutional investors and major Wall Street firms from purchasing single-family homes, a segment that has become a lucrative asset class for large landlords and private equity. He cast the initiative as a turning point in housing policy, arguing “people live in homes, not corporations” and families should not have to bid against “billion-dollar funds” for starter houses.​

In his post, Trump linked the squeeze on homebuyers to what he claimed was “record high inflation” under President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress, saying the cost surge has left many young Americans locked out of ownership. “For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream. It was the reward for working hard, and doing the right thing.” The housing market has come to a near standstill in the last several years following a boom during the pandemic, when prices doubled in most markets as people reordered their social lives amid the remote work and social distancing era.

Sean Dobson, CEO of The Amherst Group, one of America’s top institutional landlords, said in a statement to Fortune that it’s simply “inaccurate” to blame institutional ownership for the affordability problems in the housing market, as it “gets both the problem and the solution wrong.” He said America’s current housing crisis stems from “years of policy failure, not the families who rent or the capital that houses them.” He pointed out that Amherst serves over 200,000 residents, nearly 85% of whom wouldn’t qualify to buy the homes they live in today. Trump’s potential ban, if realized, would be “unacceptable” as it would put institutional rental housing and threaten real families. “Our industry is not the cause of the housing crisis, it is part of the solution.”

‘House next door’ message

Trump’s message zeroed in on the symbolism of investors acquiring properties in residential neighborhoods, promising to stop Wall Street from buying the house next door and turning it into an investment vehicle. Housing advocates and some local officials have warned bulk purchases by institutional buyers can drain the supply of for-sale homes and push families into a permanent renter status.​

The president’s post echoed this criticism, arguing large-scale buying crowds out first-time buyers and pushes prices beyond what middle-class incomes can afford. ​

Trump has not yet released draft legislation or an executive order, but officials and outside analysts say the administration is exploring several avenues, including outright purchase bans for institutional buyers and stricter limits on how many single-family homes a large investor can own. Any such move would likely focus on firms above certain asset or ownership thresholds, rather than mom-and-pop landlords or small local investors.​

The president said he would flesh out the plan later this month, including at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, where housing affordability is expected to feature in his speech. ​

Shares of single-family rental real estate investment trusts and housing-focused private equity firms slid after Trump’s comments, as investors weighed the risk of future curbs on their ability to grow portfolios. Analysts noted some of the largest players collectively own hundreds of thousands of houses, making them particularly vulnerable to any federal ownership cap or purchase prohibition.

​[This report has been updated to include a statement from Amherst CEO Sean Dobson.]