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Witness urges Vermont to limit large corporate buyers of single‑family homes; committee seeks tailoring for small state
Summary
Chris Noble of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project testified in support of H607, saying private equity owns at least 1.6 million U.S. housing units and can drive rent hikes, evictions and fees; committee members asked about thresholds, data sources (CoreLogic/Pew), and how to avoid unintended effects on local capital for new development.
Chris Noble, policy director for the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, urged the House Committee on General and Housing on March 13 to pass H607 to limit large corporate investors from buying single‑family homes in competition with individual buyers. "By passing H607, Vermont can lead state efforts to regain stability in their single family housing markets," Noble said, and he told members PSP’s analysis shows private equity owns "at least 1.6 million" housing units nationwide and has driven aggressive revenue practices.
Noble described PSP as a small nonprofit focused on transparency and accountability for private equity; he said PSP’s private‑equity risk index uses CoreLogic data, produced in partnership with Pew Research, to identify corporate landlord purchases and growth rates. Noble noted Vermont has had a relatively low share of corporate purchases historically but is in the top 10 for the rate of growth in corporate acquisitions, a trend he said merits preventive action.
Members probed whether measures to limit large investors would unintentionally restrict capital needed to build new housing. Committee members emphasized the distinction between capital that funds new construction (debt and equity for developers) and corporate purchases of existing single‑family homes intended for short‑term hold and revenue maximization. Several members asked about thresholds other states use (unit counts, monetary caps); Noble said states vary (examples cited included 10, 30 or 50 unit thresholds or monetary tests) and recommended tailoring to Vermont’s market.
Committee members also raised local concerns: short‑term rentals in resort towns, corporate purchases to house employees, and how to preserve pathways to homeownership. Noble offered to share PSP’s dataset and methodology and to follow up with state‑specific research on thresholds and calibration for Vermont’s market.
There was no formal committee vote on H607 during the session; members agreed to continue technical drafting and follow up on data and threshold options that would avoid penalizing small, local landlords or needed capital for new development.
