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Blaming Investors is Easy, Fixing Housing is Hard- an Editorial by Vena Jones-Cox, OREIA Vice President
In today’s housing debate, institutional investors have become a convenient villain.
The story goes like this: large corporations are buying up America’s homes, driving up prices, and locking families out of ownership.
It is a compelling narrative—but it is not supported by the facts, and policies built on it risk making housing affordability worse, not better.
Large institutional investors own between 2 and 4 percent of single-family rental homes nationwide, and roughly four-tenths of one percent of all single-family homes. That level of ownership is simply too small to control prices or rents at a national or even regional level. Markets are set by supply and demand, not by players with a tiny sliver of ownership and no pricing power.
More importantly, these investors are no longer major buyers of existing single-family homes. For the past 17 consecutive months, large institutional investors have sold more homes than they have purchased, according to industry data. Rather than competing with families and small buyers, they are actively putting inventory back onto the market.
At the same time, many of these firms are shifting toward build-to-rent developments, which add new housing supply—the very thing policymakers across the political spectrum agree is necessary to relieve pressure on prices.
So if institutional investors are not the cause, what actually drove housing costs to today’s levels?
The answer is uncomfortable, because it points squarely to a long chain of government decisions.
During the Great Recession, thousands of Ohio homes were demolished rather than rehabilitated, permanently removing supply at a time when demand was temporarily low. Cities later begged large investors to step in and stabilize neighborhoods simply to restore tax bases and reduce blight.
As the economy recovered, new construction failed to keep pace with population growth. Local zoning restrictions, permitting delays, impact fees, and NIMBY opposition made building slower, riskier, and far more expensive. According to federal data, the U.S. is now millions of housing units short of where it should be.
Then came COVID. Trillions of dollars were injected into an economy already facing material shortages, fueling inflation across every sector—including housing. At the same time, the Federal Reserve drove mortgage rates to historic lows and purchased massive quantities of mortgage-backed securities. That combination pulled years of housing demand forward, locking buyers into inflated prices with sub-3 percent interest rates.
When inflation finally surged in 2022, rates doubled and then tripled. Homeowners became trapped, unable to sell without giving up once-in-a-generation financing. Inventory collapsed further. Only now, years later, is supply slowly returning—and buyers are understandably cautious.
None of this was caused by institutional investors. Every major driver of today’s housing affordability crisis traces back to policy choices that restricted supply, distorted demand, or increased costs.
If lawmakers genuinely want to improve affordability, the solution is not punitive taxes or ownership caps that ensnare successful small housing providers and raise costs for residents.
The solution is to build more housing, reduce regulatory barriers, stabilize property taxes, and stop chasing politically convenient scapegoats.
Ohio does not have a housing investor problem. It has a housing supply problem—and no amount of finger-pointing will change that reality
Also look at the analysis from the National Association of Realtors HERE.
Does the city of Kent hate Nuns and foster kids?
Not really. But that was sort of what the arguments came down to when asked very pointed questions by the Ohio Supreme Court justices.
The city of Kent ignored a federal ruling about unrelated persons and continued to enforce its own zoning regulations against housing provider Reed Havel. The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law believes there should be no restrictions on using your property as you best see fit as long as it doesn't directly inflict harm on others.
Watch oral arguments HERE.
We once again thank Maurice Thompson, The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, and the Pacific Legal Foundation for their continued work on behalf of all property owners in Ohio.
Ohio Supreme Court to heard rental inspection case
We had a wonderful turnout to support Maurice Thompson and his co-councils from Pacific Legal Foundation, Allison Daniel and Nichole Papageorgiou. The justices asked great questions and seemed very interested the arguments.
A moment of humor came when Chief Justice Kennedy corrected opposing counsel who kept saying "searches" instead of "inspections". Kind of exactly the problem we have with this!!!!
Click HERE to watch a replay of the arguments.
Click HERE to make a donation to Maurice's 1851 Center for Constitutional Law so that he can keep fighting for us!
Cities across the state have implemented Rental Inspections under the guise of safety and code concerns. Though, these inspections are targeted to only one type of housing. Entering the living space of a renter with no legitimate cause and no lawful warrant is a violation of that renter's privacy.
We expect a ruling to come down in early May.
OREIA is looking for real estate investors willing to share their stories with legislators. Our professional lobbyists do a great job, but we've found that personal narratives are much more impactful. You can be an expert in the field, or simply have a compelling story about the topic; be that a positive or negative experience, a reason for entering or leaving an investing strategy, or a barrier you've experienced. It's the personal stories that best sway legislators.