When massive institutional players with access to virtually unlimited capital start competing for single family homes the average buyer never really stands a chance. It shifts the dynamic from housing as a personal achievement to housing as a financial asset class and that fundamentally changes the purpose homes serve in society.
The danger is that this practice can accelerate a trend where more and more people become long term renters not by choice but because ownership has been priced out of reach. That dependency on corporations for something as basic as shelter undermines the traditional pathway to building wealth and stability for families.
If policymakers are serious about addressing housing affordability they will need to look beyond interest rates and zoning laws and address who is allowed to own what type of property. The conversation is not just about supply and demand it is about the fairness of allowing entities with billions or trillions behind them to compete directly with working families for something that was meant to be lived in not leveraged.
When massive institutional players with access to virtually unlimited capital start competing for single family homes the average buyer never really stands a chance. It shifts the dynamic from housing as a personal achievement to housing as a financial asset class and that fundamentally changes the purpose homes serve in society.
The danger is that this practice can accelerate a trend where more and more people become long term renters not by choice but because ownership has been priced out of reach. That dependency on corporations for something as basic as shelter undermines the traditional pathway to building wealth and stability for families.
If policymakers are serious about addressing housing affordability they will need to look beyond interest rates and zoning laws and address who is allowed to own what type of property. The conversation is not just about supply and demand it is about the fairness of allowing entities with billions or trillions behind them to compete directly with working families for something that was meant to be lived in not leveraged.