WASHINGTON--U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration is moving to ban Wall Street firms from buying up single-family homes in a bid to reduce home prices, a potential blow for private-equity landlords that also pressured homebuilder shares.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was immediately taking steps to implement the ban which he would also call on Congress to codify in law."For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream," Trump wrote, going on to add that inflation had put that dream out of reach for many Americans.
"People live in homes, not corporations," said Trump, who is under growing pressure to address voter anxiety over the cost of living ahead of this year's congressional mid-term elections.
A Republican move to target Wall Street landlords would, perversely, align the party with Democrats, who for years have criticized corporate homebuying, claiming it has helped stoke housing costs, and have unsuccessfully pushed bills to crackdown on the trend.Wall Street institutions such as Blackstone, American Homes 4 Rent and Progress Residential have bought thousands of single-family homes since the financial crisis of 2008 led to a wave of home foreclosures.
By June 2022, institutional investors owned around 450,000 homes, or about 3%, of all single-family rental homes nationally, according to a 2024 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).American Homes 4 Rent AMH.N dropped to a near three-year low of $28.84 and was halted for volatility before trading resumed. Its shares were last down nearly 6% at $30.61.
Blackstone shares hit a one-month low of $147.52 and were last down about 4.5% at $155.33. The PHLX housing index was down 2.3% on the session, on track for its biggest daily percentage drop since Nov. 17.
Blackstone, American Homes 4 Rent and Progress Residential did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Wall Street landlords dispute that their investments have stoked inflation. In a January 2025 research note, Blackstone said institutional home purchases have declined 90% since 2022 and that supply shortage is the reason for house price increases.
The GAO study found that the effect of institutional homebuying on homeownership opportunities was unclear in part due to limited data.
Critics say Wall Street firms are also bad landlords, skimping on upkeep in order to keep investors happy, and wrongly evicted tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Resident experience is hurting as a result," said Jeff Holzmann, COO of RREAF Holdings, a Dallas-based real estate investment firm with over $5 billion in assets. "Instead of you calling your landlord to discuss a problem, you're calling a call center that gives you the runaround."
Trump, who has occasionally dismissed affordability concerns and blamed inflation on his Democratic predecessor, has seen his own public approval mostly sag since his inauguration as Americans worry about the economy.It was not immediately clear what authority Trump would draw upon to impose an immediate ban, and he did not outline the changes he was seeking from Congress.The White House did not respond to a request for comment. The U.S. president was due to sign unspecified executive orders later on Wednesday.
