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Inside: Blackstone Ban ❌ + Emily in Paris Comes to Austin 🇫🇷 
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WHAT'S INSIDE

• 🥽 DEEP DIVE

• 🤤 HOUSE WORTH DROOLING OVER

🥽 DEEP DIVE

I’m an ex-dentist turned Realtor - let’s work together! Email me, tweet me or send me a carrier pigeon. 🐦️ 

The dream of a white picket fence might be coming back. Let’s take a look 👀 

President Trump is pushing to stop private equity firms and other large investors from buying additional single-family homes, framing the move as a way to improve housing affordability and protect first-time buyers.

We did a deep dive on Blackstone back in September, catch up here.

Key details:

• Proposal: Ban large investors from buying more single-family homes

• Trump says he is taking immediate steps and wants Congress to codify the ban into law

• Who does this effect?

  • Existing rental portfolios would remain, but firms would be blocked from future purchases

• Why now?

  • Rising cost-of-living pressure ahead of midterm elections

• Market share reality:

  • Institutional investors own roughly 3–4% of U.S. single-family rental homes

  • Small investors still make up the majority of owners

• Market reaction:

  • Shares of Blackstone, Invitation Homes, and American Homes for Rent fell 4–6%

Trump’s argument taps into a concern many buyers already feel on the ground: Wall Street has been competing directly with families for homes, often with advantages traditional buyers can’t match.

Why this matters

As we’ve talked about before, firms like Blackstone (the world’s largest private equity firm with over $1 trillion in assets 💰️) have been aggressively buying single-family homes at scale. The strategy isn’t about building communities, it’s to lock us into renting for life.

How the model works

• Cash purchases, sometimes 30% over asking, shutting out financed buyers

• Bulk buying in specific zip codes to gain local market control

• Minimal renovations, just enough to raise rents

• Expansion of build-to-rent communities where no resident ever owns

The data behind the concern

• About 30% of all starter homes were bought by corporate investors in 2024

• U.S. homeownership remains stuck around 65%, still below pre-2008 levels

• Blackstone alone has been buying ~800 homes per month

• Similar strategies have already led to:

  • Apartment rent increases of 38% in parts of California

  • Mobile home park rents tripling

  • Rapid expansion across Sun Belt suburbs (that’s us!)

TLDR: It’s unclear if this ban will become law but the political spotlight is on corporate homebuying. For investors, that introduces policy risk. For buyers, it signals that the market frustration might be influencing policy.

Read more: here and here.

🤤 HOUSE WORTH DROOLING OVER

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