Abstract 

        This article examines the implications of corporate landlords, specifically private equity firms, in the American single-family real estate market. The central problem of these “institutional investors” is the concern that firms will make it more expensive to buy a home (housing affordability) and prevent middle-class families from building wealth. In January of 2026, President Donald Trump authorized federal antitrust enforcers within the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to review large acquisitions of single-family homes by investors in an executive order titled Stopping Wall Street From Competing With Main Street Homebuyers. The main rationale for this executive order likely pulls on precedent set by federal antitrust framework such as the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Clayton Antitrust Act, specific housing acts such as the Fair Housing Act, and court decisions such as Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project. Additional challenges include the weakening of disparate-impact and disparate-housing claims, as well as the disproportionate concentration of private equity investments in low-income Black neighborhoods.

 

Background

        In recent years, corporate landlords have entered the market in mass numbers, buying up mass portfolios of single-family homes. This trend largely began following The Great Recession of 2007-2009 which induced the 2008 Housing Crisis. The crisis was largely caused by “an expansion in home mortgage borrowing by US households”, in which mortgage debt of US households rose…to 97 percent [of GDP] in 2006”. According to the GAO, often referred to as “institutional investors”, expanded rapidly due to access to low-cost funding sources such as private equity. Some studies have found that these "institutional investors” play a role in home prices and rents increasing. Major private equity firms like Blackstone entered the market in 2012, and were welcomed by government officials concerned about abandoned houses. Politicians like JD Vance and Kamala Harris have since called for a ban on corporate landlords as historically “homeownership has been a primary way that middle-class families build wealth”. Now the concern is that as private equity outbids “aspiring homeowners”, firms will make it more expensive to buy a home and be able to pocket the appreciation in home values. For example, an estimated 41 percent of all home sales in Atlanta were purchased by investors in the fourth quarter of 2021.An important factor when examining these cities with high levels of private equity purchases is race. Recent evidence suggests that “a disproportionate share of institutional investor purchases of single-family homes occurred in predominantly Black neighborhoods”. A memorandum by the United States House Committee on Financial Services reports similar trends as “the five largest owners and operators of SFR [single-family rental] homes in the United States…tended to purchase homes in neighborhoods with significantly larger Black populations than the national average. Similarly, a LA county case study found that “middle-income neighborhoods with higher percentages of Black residents and lower home values were disproportionately affected by increased investor participation in the SFR housing market”. 

        This paper argues that the rapid expansion of institutional investors in the single-family housing market exposes gaps in antitrust enforcement and Fair Housing protections for low-income and marginalized communities. The existing laws surrounding housing do not sufficiently regulate the single-family rental market, nor disparate-housing impact on Black residents. 

 

[1] John Weinberg, The Great Recession and Its Aftermath, Federal Reserve History (2013)

[2] Accountability Office, 15 Years After the Subprime Meltdown, Renters Could Still Be Feeling the Impacts, Gao.gov (2023)

[3] Alex Mayyasi, Here’s what happens when private equity buys homes in your neighborhood, NPR (2025)

[4] Alex Mayyasi, Here’s what happens when private equity buys homes in your neighborhood, NPR (2025)

[5] Claudia Zequeira, Unpacking Investor Purchases of Single-Family Homes: What Does the Evidence Say? - Local Housing Solutions, Local Housing Solutions (2023)

[6] Claudia Zequeira, Unpacking Investor Purchases of Single-Family Homes: What Does the Evidence Say? - Local Housing Solutions, Local Housing Solutions (2023)

[7] Maxine Waters & Patrick Henry, Memorandum, (2022)

​

Legal Concerns

        Two main legal statutes make up the American federal antitrust framework. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 prohibits activities that restrict interstate commerce and competition. This act “outlaws any contract, conspiracy, or combination of business interests in restraint of foreign or interstate trade." U.S. Code § 2 - Monopolizing trade a felony; penalty reads that “every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished." In 1914, the Clayton Antitrust Act served to bolster the Sherman Antitrust Act, and “outlaws the following conduct: price discrimination against competing companies; conditioning sales on exclusive dealing; mergers and acquisitions when they may substantially reduce competition; serving on the board of directors for two competing companies." These prohibitions all work to restrict “monopolistic conduct."

        Under the lens of the Fair Housing Act, enacted as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., housing policy “prohibits discrimination by direct providers of housing," which includes landlords, real estate companies, municipalities, banks, lending institutions, and even homeowners insurance companies. Lender discrimination is described as “discriminatory practices [which] make housing unavailable to persons because of: race or color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability." When private equity firms buy up single-family homes and convert them into higher-priced rentals, they may disproportionately affect marginalized households, especially those who already face systemic barriers to (generational) wealth accumulation. These marginalized households also likely do not experience equitable housing access. By following the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seg., in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., the Supreme Court “held that the statutory language of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) focuses on the consequences of the actions in question rather than the actor’s intent”, establishing the doctrine of disparate-impact liability in housing law. Disparate-housing claims are rooted in disparate-impact theory of liability, “first applied in the Supreme Court's 1971 interpretation of Title VII, which bars employment discrimination”. However, disparate-impact liability has been weakened by President Trump’s executive order Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, signed in April of 2025. The order states “it is the policy of the United States to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible to avoid violating the Constitution…”. The executive order further reads “all agencies shall deprioritize enforcement of all statutes and regulations to the extent they include disparate-impact liability”.  

 

[8] Cornell Law School, Sherman Antitrust Act, LII / Legal Information Institute (2018)

[9] 15 U.S. Code § 2 - Monopolizing trade a felony; penalty, LII / Legal Information Institute (2019)

[10] Cornell Law School, Clayton Antitrust Act, LII / Legal Information Institute (2022)

[11] The United States Department of Justice, The Fair Housing Act, justice.gov (2023)

[12] Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc, Oyez

[13] April Anderson, What Is Disparate-Impact Discrimination?, Congress.gov (2025)

[14] Donald Trump, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, The White House (2025)

[15] Donald Trump, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, The White House (2025)

 

Modern Actions

       One of President Trump’s most relevant actions is the Stopping Wall Street From Competing With Main Street Homebuyers executive order, signed on January 20, 2026. In Section 1 of the executive order, home-ownership is described as “the pinnacle of the American dream and a way for families to invest and build lifetime wealth”, and due to the “recent high inflation and interest rates…the American dream has been increasingly out of reach for too many of our citizens, especially first-time homebuyers.” Section 1 goes on to describe that “a growing share of single-family homes, often concentrated in certain communities, have been purchased by large Wall Street investors… [and] hardworking young families cannot effectively compete for starter homes with Wall Street firms and their vast resources." According to the White House, the executive order seeks to limit the role of large institutional investors and private equity firms in the single-family housing market. The executive order instructs “the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission [to] review substantial acquisitions, including series of acquisitions, by large institutional investors of single-family homes…for anti-competitive effects and prioritize enforcement of the antitrust laws, as appropriate, against coordinated vacancy and pricing strategies." This authorization “signals that federal antitrust enforcers will scrutinize bulk acquisitions of single-family homes by PE firms and other large institutional investors” with the goal of reducing negative effects on the housing market and preventing harmful strategies such as coordinated conduct related to rental and vacancy rates.

        Due to the signing of Stopping Wall Street From Competing With Main Street Homebuyers, the likelihood of private equity firms (in the single-family housing market) being investigated for antitrust violations or even enforcement actions increases, and investigations can include “compulsory document requests, depositions, and enforcement suits challenging acquisitions strategies or alleged coordination between firms”. On March 12, 2026 the US Senate bipartisanly passed what NPR called the largest housing bill in a decade. The bill introduces “a ban that would prevent any investor that owns at least 350 homes from buying more.” However, the bill will face significant challenges in the coming days. The Senate still needs to negotiate the bill with the House of Representatives in order to advance the legislation. Even if the bill reaches President Trump, “he has said he won't sign any legislation until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, which would require eligible voters to provide documents proving their U.S. citizenship before they are allowed to cast a ballot”.

        Unless significant regulation is put on private equity firms and institutional investors, the US risks making the quintessential American dream unaffordable for first-time homeowners, and communities attempting to build generational wealth. The anti-competitive effects of corporate landlords only drive rent and home prices higher as well, disproportionately affecting low-income neighborhoods. 

 

[15] Donald Trump, Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers, The White House (2026)

[16] Holly Kane, New Executive Order Focuses on Private Equity Ownership of Single-Family Homes and Sets Stage for Antitrust Enforcement Action | Foley & Lardner, Foley & Lardner LLP (2026)

[17] Donald Trump, Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers, The White House (2026)

[18] Holly Kane, New Executive Order Focuses on Private Equity Ownership of Single-Family Homes and Sets Stage for Antitrust Enforcement Action | Foley & Lardner, Foley & Lardner LLP (2026)

[19] Holly Kane, New Executive Order Focuses on Private Equity Ownership of Single-Family Homes and Sets Stage for Antitrust Enforcement Action | Foley & Lardner, Foley & Lardner LLP (2026)

[20] Stephan Bisaha, Senate passes bipartisan housing bill targeting large investors and easing regulations, NPR (2026)

[21] Stephan Bisaha, Senate passes bipartisan housing bill targeting large investors and easing regulations, NPR (2026)