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Officials urge limits on institutional homebuyers and push 'Road to Housing' legislation
Summary
At a Lansing press event, Rep. Tom Barrett and others said large institutional investors are outbidding households and described pending federal and state bills to curb that trend; HUD said it submitted comments to the 'Road to Housing' bill and that more details are forthcoming.
At a question-and-answer session during a visit to the Walter French School, Congressman Tom Barrett and the HUD Secretary discussed legislative and regulatory changes aimed at keeping single-family homes affordable for families.
An unnamed questioner asked for an update on an executive order intended to stop Wall Street from buying single-family homes that otherwise would be available to first-time buyers. The Secretary said HUD had provided comments on the 'Road to Housing' bill and that the administration was working with Congress on the legislation. “I’m hopeful that the House and the Senate will come to a great conclusion,” the Secretary said, adding that HUD had weighed in on how the bill would affect the department.
Rep. Tom Barrett described large institutional purchases as a growing problem in some communities and said he co-sponsored a bill that would ban large institutional buyers. “Homes are for families and not for corporations,” Barrett said, arguing that institutional and private-equity purchases can establish near monopolies on housing stock and crowd out ordinary buyers. He also said Michigan lawmakers are pursuing a complementary state-level bill to curb such purchases.
Officials and reporters discussed other policy ideas raised during the session, including:
- Regulatory reform to reduce the cost of building starter homes, a change Barrett said would increase supply and help first-time buyers; - Proposals to allow seniors to exempt capital gains when selling certain second homes to first-time buyers; - Expanding early eligibility for VA home loans to National Guard and reservists; - Portability of mortgage rates to reduce market immobility caused by low-rate refinances.
The Secretary and local officials framed these proposals as part of broader efforts to expand homeownership and stressed that specific legislative language and timelines were not finalized at the site. No votes, ordinances or formal policy actions were taken at the event.
