President Donald Trump took executive action on Tuesday to bar large “institutional investors” from purchasing single-family homes, aiming to make homeownership more achievable.
“To preserve the supply of single-family homes for American families and increase the paths to homeownership, it is the policy of my Administration that large institutional investors should not buy single-family homes that could otherwise be purchased by families,” said President Trump in the order.
The order, “Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers,” follows up on a statement made by Trump on Truth Social earlier this month, where he promised to help restore the American Dream of homeownership.
Trump directed the Secretary of the Treasury to develop clear definitions of “large institutional investor” and “single-family home” within 30 days that can be used in the execution of the order.
Within 60 days of the order’s publication, agencies must work to prevent government agencies from in any way facilitating the purchase of a single-family home by an institutional investor.
The order also implements a “first look” policy that will allow families and individuals an opportunity to purchase foreclosed properties before investors can.
The Attorney General and Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission must review a series of acquisitions of single-family homes by investors with an eye toward enforcing antitrust laws and identifying any coordinated efforts and pricing strategies in the single-family rental market.
Trump also instructed the Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political, and Public Affairs to prepare legislation aimed at codifying the policies set out by the order.
The order could seemingly have a significant impact on the housing market, especially in light of data showing that a staggering 27 percent of all single-family homes sold in the first quarter of 2025 were purchased by investors.
According to the Associated Press, investors purchased an average of 18.5 percent of homes from 2020 to 2023.
