Congress may limit big buyers
A new Senate package — dubbed 'HOMES ARE FOR PEOPLE, NOT CORPORATIONS' — would restrict institutional buyers in the single‑family market to boost supply, a change that could materially reshape investor‑driven wholesaling and rental strategies. (therealdeal.com) The bill is still moving through Congress, so wholesalers should model how fewer institutional buyers could compress exit options or force longer hold periods. (therealdeal.com)
The Senate passed H.R. 6644 — renamed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act — on March 12, 2026 by a roughly 89–10 vote. (govinfo.gov) Section 901 of the Senate amendment is titled “Homes Are For People, Not Corporations” and expressly bars “large institutional investors” from purchasing single‑family homes; the bill’s working definition treats an LII as any for‑profit entity with investment control of 350 or more single‑family homes. (banking.senate.gov) The legislative text does not force immediate divestiture of pre‑existing portfolios (existing holdings are grandfathered), but it requires divestment of properties acquired under statutory exceptions after a set period and includes a separate provision that would compel build‑to‑rent portfolios to be sold off after seven years. (banking.senate.gov) Large public SFR owners already operate at scale: Invitation Homes reported roughly 85,000 homes and American Homes 4 Rent reported about 61,000 homes in their recent filings, placing those companies well above the bill’s 350‑home threshold. (invh.com) Sen. Raphael Warnock is the chief sponsor of the investor‑limit provision and publicly framed it around concentrated private‑equity ownership in cities like Atlanta; Senate negotiators including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott circulated the Senate version of the ROAD to Housing Act. (georgiarecorder.com) The Senate‑passed text now returns to the House, where lawmakers have flagged objections to the Senate’s amendments — including a temporary CBDC prohibition — leaving the bill’s final form and enactment timeline uncertain. (mayerbrown.com)
