Housing affordability in Dallas-Fort Worth and across Texas today is vastly different than it was four years ago, with interest rates and an influx of immigrants all contributing to unmanageable price increases. It is being
Investors who gleefully began buying homes in markets like Texas in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic also share some of the blame with many in the single-family housing space.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott may plan to address investors flooding into the home-buying space in the next legislative session, scheduled to begin on January 14.
This isn't the first time investors have penetrated single-family homes and presented lawmakers with the prospect of taking steps to support everyday Texans, but whether Abbott's endorsement will give Congress more momentum remains to be seen. Questions remain.
Member of Parliament Austin Democrat Gina Hinojosa introduced two bills in recent legislative sessions.
The first, HB 1056, would require financial institutions and investment companies to register with the state Comptroller's Office if they own and rent housing in Texas. These entities would be required to disclose their holdings to the inspector general, and those holdings would then be made available online in searchable format.
Hinojosa's second bill, HB 1057, would prohibit investment companies from offering single-family homes for sale until at least 30 days have passed after the home has been listed for sale.
Both bills died during a session in which thousands of bills were introduced between the state House and Senate.
Texas had the highest percentage of institutional purchases in 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors' 2022 report. For the purpose of the study, NAR defined an institutional investor as a corporation, corporation, or limited liability company. Note that some individuals own their homes through LLCs.
According to NAR, Texas topped all states with a 28% share, followed by Georgia in second place with 19%.
Although they did not occupy the top two spots among counties with at least 50,000 people, Texas counties dominated the largest share of counties. These include Lincoln County, Michigan, where the share of institutional buyers was 67% higher than the national average, and Van Buren County, Iowa, at 63%.
Mr. Abbott on Friday directed his social media followers to a post about X, which claims investors bought 44% of single-family homes in the United States last year. Although the post did not mention the source of the data, it resurfaced similar numbers to claims published on Medium in December and later debunked.
Although the actual share of institutional ownership in single-family homes is difficult to tally, it remains a concern for those struggling to obtain homeownership. Whether considered together or separately, Texas' single-family housing market and investors' relationship to home prices is likely to be the most important consideration in Austin in January.
