Gov Abbott says he’s coming for institutional homebuyers

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott came out against the increasing trend of corporate entities purchasing residential homes.

The Republican governor made his stance clear in a Friday post on X, formerly Twitter, saying the issue should be addressed in the 2025 legislative session, the Dallas Morning News reported. 

“I strongly support free markets. But this corporate large-scale buying of residential homes seems to be distorting the market and making it harder for the average Texan to purchase a home,” he wrote. “This must be added to the legislative agenda to protect Texas families.”

Abbott’s remarks came in response to a viral post from the @WallStreetApes account, which touted a significant surge in single-family home purchases by financial firms. The post was based on the inaccurate claim that private equity firms acquired 44 percent of all single-family homes in the United States in 2023, a figure it said was expected to remain consistent in 2024 and rise to 60 percent by 2030.

While the exact sourcing of the data presented by WallStreetApes is unclear, similar statistics circulated in a viral Medium post last year, prompting concerns about the impact on the housing market. An analysis by Housing Wire revealed that about 30 percent of homes are owned by institutional investors, with smaller investors comprising the majority, the outlet reported.

Investors bought about a third of the homes on the market in Dallas-Fort Worth last year, according to CoreLogic.

The influx of investors into the single-family housing market has been attributed to escalating prices in traditionally affordable areas, such as Dallas-Fort Worth. Companies like Dallas-based Invitation Homes have become major players in this space, owning tens of thousands of homes across key markets, often through joint ventures with homebuilders.

However, quantifying the extent of investor influence in the residential sector remains challenging, with complexities arising from varied ownership structures, including individual investors using limited liability corporations for property holdings.

As Texas gears up for its next legislative session in 2025, the debate is poised to focus on determining thresholds for intervention, including considerations about institutional ownership, out-of-state investment and the impact on housing affordability. 

—Quinn Donoghue 

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