Will Congress Ban Hedge Funds Ownership of Single-Family Rentals and Force Them to Sell?

There’s a new effort in Congress to keep big landlords from owning single-family homes. Democrats in the Senate and House introduced legislation that would ban hedge funds from owning rental homes and force them to sell off what they have over ten years. But that bill and a second one both appear to target any large real estate investor, not just hedge funds.   The legislation is called the “End of Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023.” It was introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and by Representative Adam Smith of Washington. If passed, hedge funds would be unable to purchase any more single-family rentals, and would have to sell at least 10% of what they own per year, to American families. That would create a 10-year phase out of hedge fund ownership after which they’d be completely banned from owning them.   As reported by Fast Company, the legislation doesn’t just refer to hedge funds, but to real estate investment trusts or REITs as well as corporations that own single-family rentals. If that’s the case, then many of the build-to-rent projects would come to a screeching halt because they are often funded by large institutional investors.   And what we need is “more” supply, not less. That’s what will bring prices down, not by banning corporate ownership of rentals which actually accounts for a very small percentage of rental homes...   You’ll find links to the three articles I mentioned in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. The Real Wealth Show interview with Richard Ross can be found on YouTube and podcast platforms.   ...If you want to build your own individual portfolio of rental homes, please sign up as a Real Wealth member. It’s free to join and will give you access to all our housing market data, hundreds of webinars, and a long list of recommended real estate professionals including our experienced investment counselors.   Also, please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Links:   Real Wealth Show with Richard Ross of Quinn Residences: Click here   1 - https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-affordability-investors-hedge-funds-wall-street-democrats-bill-2023-12   2 - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/06/realestate/wall-street-housing-market.html   3 - https://www.fastcompany.com/90995833/housing-market-bill-kicking-out-wall-street-investors-affordability