https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-will-ban-large-institutional-investors-buying-single-family-homes-trump-says-2026-01-07/ Skip to main content Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more aboutRefinitiv * World Browse World + Africa + Americas + Asia Pacific + China + Europe + India + Israel and Hamas at War + Japan + Middle East + Ukraine and Russia at War + United Kingdom + United States + Reuters NEXT New York * Business Browse Business + Aerospace & Defense + Autos & Transportation + Davos + Energy + Environment + Finance + Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals + Media & Telecom + Retail & Consumer + Future of Health + Future of Money + Take Five + World at Work * Markets Browse Markets + On the Money + Asian Markets + Carbon Markets + Commodities + Currencies + Deals + Emerging Markets + ETFs + European Markets + Funds + Global Market Data + Rates & Bonds + Stocks + U.S. Markets + Wealth + Econ World * Sustainability Browse Sustainability + Boards, Policy & Regulation + Climate & Energy + Land Use & Biodiversity + Society & Equity + Sustainable Finance & Reporting + The Switch + Reuters Impact + COP30 * Legal Browse Legal + Government + Legal Industry + Litigation + Transactional + US Supreme Court * Commentary Browse Commentary + Breakingviews + Breakingviews Predictions + ROI: Reuters Open Interest * Technology Browse Technology + Artificial Intelligence + Cybersecurity + Space + Disrupted * Investigations * More Sports + Athletics + Baseball + Basketball + Cricket + Cycling + Formula 1 + Golf + NFL + NHL + Soccer + Tennis Science Lifestyle City Memo Graphics Pictures Wider Image Podcasts + Reuters World News + Reuters Morning Bid + Reuters Econ World + On Assignment + Viewsroom + The Big View Live Fact Check Video Sponsored Content + Reuters Plus + Press Releases My News Register Trump says he will ban Wall Street investments in single-family homes By Trevor Hunnicutt January 7, 20268:59 PM UTCUpdated ago * * * * * * * * A residential home for sale sign is shown in California A for sale sign is shown for a residential home in Encinitas, California, U.S. July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab * Summary * Companies * Wall Street blamed for reduced housing supply, rent inflation * Homebuilder shares drop sharply after Trump's comments * Trump faces pressure over cost of living ahead of midterms Jan 7 (Reuters) - 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. Sign up here. "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. A bar chart showing the number of single-family homes held by investors, by the number of home units held by each investor as of the second quarter of 2025. A bar chart showing the number of single-family homes held by investors, by the number of home units held by each investor as of the second quarter of 2025. WALL STREET BLAMED FOR REDUCED HOUSING SUPPLY Wall Street institutions such as Blackstone (BX.N), opens new tab, American Homes 4 Rent (AMH.N), opens new tab 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), opens new tab 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 (.HGX), opens new tab 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." AFFORDABILITY PRESSURE 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. Since Trump's first electoral victory, U.S. home prices have risen 75%, more than double the increase in overall consumer prices tracked by CPI. But home sales price increases have eased substantially over the past year. The Federal Housing Finance Agency last week reported that national home sales prices had risen just 1.7% in October from a year earlier - the lowest in more than 13 years. That's less than half the rate by which they were climbing when Trump came back into office last January and a fraction of their peak gains of nearly 20% in 2021 and 2022. A big factor in home price inflation has been a dearth of supply of properties for sale, although that has also been slowly improving in the last year or so, according to National Association of Realtors data. As of November, annual shelter-cost inflation, which had shot to as high as 8.2% in the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath, had also eased to 3.0%, the lowest in more than four years, according to the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index. Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; additional reporting by Saeed Azhar, Chuck Mikolajczak, Andrea Shalal, Matt Tracy and Dan Burns; Writing by Michelle Price; Editing by Caitlin Webber, David Ljunggren, Cynthia Osterman, Rod Nickel and Nick Zieminski Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * United States * Public Policy * Capital Markets * * * * * Purchase Licensing Rights Read Next * agoUnited Statescategory ICE agent fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis, mayor disputes government claim of self-defense Members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stand guard after a driver of a vehicle was shot in Minneapolis * agoUnited Statescategory Exclusive: Trump shifts FTC pick to White House role advising on tech and competition FTC Presser on Facebook settlement in Washington * agoWorldcategory Trump withdraws US from dozens of international organizations, White House says U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House from Florida, in Washington * agoLegalcategory US House to vote on Democratic effort to reinstate healthcare subsidies Schumer speaks after healthcare plan votes at the Capitol In Washington * agoUnited Statescategory Trump says US military budget for 2027 should be $1.5 trillion U.S. President Donald Trump addresses House Republicans at the Kennedy Center in Washington * agoWorldcategory US withholds $160 million from California over foreign truck-driver licenses U.S. and California flags fly together on a flag pole in Oceanside, California LSEG Workspace World * Arraignment for Nick Reiner in Los Angeles Nick Reiner's high-profile lawyer quits as public defenders take over; arraignment postponed Legalcategory * January 7, 2026 * 10:44 PM UTC * ago The development marked the latest twist to the disquieting demise of Rob Reiner. * U.S. and California flags fly together on a flag pole in Oceanside, California WorldcategoryUS pulls $160 million in funding from California over foreign truck-driver licenses 10:43 PM UTC * Members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stand guard after a driver of a vehicle was shot in Minneapolis United StatescategoryICE agent fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis, mayor disputes government claim of self-defense 10:37 PM UTC * U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House from Florida, in Washington WorldcategoryTrump withdraws US from dozens of international organizations, White House says 10:35 PM UTC * A U.S. Coast Guard official looks through binoculars at the ship Marinera (Ex-Bella 1) BusinesscategoryUS seizes Russian-flagged tanker, another tied to Venezuela as Trump widens oil push 10:21 PM UTC Site Index Latest * Home * Authors * Topic Sitemap * Archive * Article Sitemap Media * Videos * Pictures * Graphics * Podcasts Latest * Home * Authors * Topic Sitemap * Archive * Article Sitemap Browse * World * Business * Markets * Sustainability * Legal * Breakingviews * Technology * Investigations * Sports * Science * Lifestyle Media * Videos * Pictures * Graphics * Podcasts About Reuters * About Reuters, opens new tab * Advertise with Us, opens new tab * Careers, opens new tab * Reuters News Agency, opens new tab * Brand Attribution Guidelines, opens new tab * Reuters and AI, opens new tab * Reuters Leadership, opens new tab * Reuters Fact Check * Reuters Diversity Report, opens new tab * Commercial Disclosure (Japan), opens new tab Stay Informed * Download the App (iOS), opens new tab * Download the App (Android), opens new tab * Newsletters * Subscribe Information you can trust Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. 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