Senate Housing Bill Advances as Trump-Backed Ban on Large Single‑Family Home Investors Spurs Democratic Pushback
The Senate on Wednesday moved a bipartisan housing package, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, closer to a final vote, even as a Trump‑backed provision banning large institutional investors from buying single‑family homes emerged as a major sticking point. The bill, which passed the House 390‑9, is being managed in the Senate by Banking Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott, R‑S.C., and top Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who added language mirroring President Trump’s executive order barring hedge funds and large corporations from purchasing single‑family houses and requiring big landlords above a specified threshold to divest within seven years. Supporters frame the measure as a way to help first‑time and lower‑income buyers compete with Wall Street and to expand affordable housing supply, but Sen. Brian Schatz, D‑Hawaii, and industry groups warn on the floor that the current drafting would force anyone owning and renting more than about 350 single‑family or duplex units to sell, potentially wiping out large build‑to‑rent portfolios. The clash exposes a rift inside the Democratic caucus over how aggressively to curb corporate ownership in the housing market, even as Trump, Warren and Senate Republicans try to present the broader package as proof that Washington can act on the affordability crisis. The outcome will determine whether Congress locks in an unprecedented federal limit on large‑scale single‑family landlords or scales back the ban to target only the biggest financial players.
📌 Key Facts
- The Housing for the 21st Century Act passed the House last month on a 390‑9 bipartisan vote and cleared another Senate procedural hurdle Wednesday, with a final vote expected before Thursday’s recess.
- Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Elizabeth Warren jointly advanced and modified the bill in the Senate, adding a provision to codify President Trump’s executive order banning institutional investors such as hedge funds and large corporations from buying single‑family homes.
- The investor‑ban language would bar entities that own and rent more than roughly 350 single‑family or duplex units from continuing to hold them, requiring divestment within seven years — a scope Sen. Brian Schatz says is overly broad and threatens build‑to‑rent housing.
- If enacted, the bill would also fold in elements of the stalled ROAD to Housing Act aimed at boosting affordable housing supply and helping first‑time and lower‑income buyers enter the market.
📊 Relevant Data
Large institutional investors own just over 3% of the single-family rental stock in the US, with their impact on housing prices being modest, slightly raising purchase prices while reducing rents.
The ripple effects of banning institutional purchases of single-family rentals — Brookings Institution
In 2024, homeownership rates in the US were 73.8% for non-Hispanic White Americans, 63% for Asian Americans, 49.8% for Hispanic Americans, and 45.9% for Black Americans, with the national average at around 66%.
Homeownership Rates by Race and Ethnicity — Eye On Housing
In 2023, the mortgage denial rate for Black applicants was 18.6%, nearly double the 9.6% rate for White applicants, with Latinos facing a 1.5 times higher denial rate and Asians 1.2 times higher.
Racial Gaps In Mortgage Denials Persist Despite Industry Progress — National Mortgage Professional
Build-to-rent home construction reached a record high of 27,500 units opening in 2023, up 75% from the prior year, providing rental options amid affordability challenges.
Institutional investors accounted for about 26% of single-family home purchases in some quarters, but own roughly 20% of the 86 million single-family homes overall, including smaller investors.
Investors are making up the highest share of homebuyers in 5 years — CNBC
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