Feb 19 - The White House has proposed a policy that would bar investors who already own in excess of 100 single-family residences from purchasing additional homes, according to a White House memorandum circulated to congressional committee leaders.
The measure outlined in the memo would not be blanket. It contains specific exemptions for investors who construct new homes or undertake substantial renovations with the explicit purpose of renting them, the document shows. Administration officials are seeking to have the investor purchase restriction included in a Senate housing bill that is currently under negotiation.
White House officials did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment late on Thursday.
The proposal comes after an executive order issued in January that placed limits on large institutional investors competing with individual homebuyers, with the stated aim of making housing more affordable. The details in the recent memo are presented as a continuation of that policy direction.
Officials in the administration have introduced a range of measures intended to address concerns about housing affordability among voters ahead of the congressional elections this year. Those measures include purchases of mortgage-backed securities and other steps described by the administration as designed to improve access to housing.
Context and intent
The memorandum frames the purchase ban as a targeted response to reduce competition between large investors and individual homebuyers in the market for single-family housing. The policy would apply to investors who meet the specified ownership threshold and would limit their ability to expand portfolios of single-family homes unless they qualify for an exemption.
Legislative outlook
Administration officials are pursuing congressional action to make the restriction statutory by asking that it be added to a Senate housing bill now being negotiated. The proposal's future hinges on whether lawmakers agree to incorporate the ban and on how exemptions are defined in final legislation.
The White House did not immediately respond to inquiries about the memo or the administration's plans beyond the details provided to congressional committee leaders.