By Patrick Blennerhassett, Las Vegas Review-Journal, January 7, 2026 – 3:32 pm
President Donald Trump sent shockwaves through the country’s residential real estate industry Wednesday with a social media post calling for a ban on large institutional investors purchasing homes and for Congress to codify the issue.
“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream,” Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday. “I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations.”
Investors, Wall Street backed-hedged funds and corporate owners have long played a significant role in Las Vegas’ housing market as a recent report from UNLV’s Lied Center for Real Estate — which pulled its data from Redfin — estimates investors have purchased more than 492,000 homes since the start of the Great Recession.
Nationally, institutional investors are only a tiny sliver of homebuyers, accounting for just 1 percent of total single-family housing stock, according to an August analysis by researchers at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank based in Washington. The analysis defined these investors as owning 100 or more properties.
Last month, Trump pledged in a prime-time address that he would roll out “some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history” this year. The president said he would discuss housing and affordability in more detail in two weeks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an event known for attracting CEOs, wealthy financiers and academics with a global focus who often run contrary to Trump’s populist rhetoric.
Las Vegas-area real estate analysts, lawmakers and real estate agents said it’s too early to tell where this complex issue will head now, however noted this is definitely a paradigm shift regarding the topic.
“It is past time that we ban large institutional investors from buying up our housing stock and driving up prices for families,” U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada, said in a post on X. “I have been pushing for this at the federal level for years and recently testified before the Nevada State Legislature about my work on this issue. Let’s get this done.”
U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford said in an X post that Congress should support his legislation that would aim to increase oversight, prevent predatory practices by large investors, and ensure fair pricing during emergencies.
“I’ve been sounding the alarm for months as Wall Street drives up housing costs for Nevada families. If the President is serious about addressing this crisis, the solution is already on the table,” he wrote on X.
Las Vegas-area real estate agent Steve Hawks said he applauds Trump’s statement and said he’s happy there is now acknowledgment of the problem at the highest level of government.
“It’s about time someone tried to do something,” he said. “Hopefully now this puts more of a spotlight onto what’s going on and Vegas has been hit the hardest by these hedge funds and corporate landlords.”
Mike Roland, the founder of The Roland Team real estate brokerage, said he supports the statement from Trump, however is unsure of the potential policy direction, and said limiting corporate influence in the housing market in one way or another could be beneficial regarding affordability.
“While this might slightly reduce a seller’s buyer pool, institutional cash buyers have made it nearly impossible for many first-time buyers to compete,” he said. “Giving individuals a fair shot at homeownership is a necessary correction in today’s market.”
More data and proper quantitative statistics are needed to properly assess, codify and break down the overall impression of institutional investors on the local and national housing market, said Shawn McCoy, the Director of UNLV’s Lied Center for Real Estate and one of the authors of the report.
“It remains difficult to distinguish between the small local investors from larger corporate buyers. As a result, housing researchers do not have a complete picture of the true extent of large scale corporate ownership,” he said. “And that distinction is critical when evaluating policy to restrict certain portions of investor purchases.”
McCoy said the valley does have an acute problem regarding investor purchases of homes related to other American cities that is undeniable.
“Las Vegas is a standout, investor activity in Las Vegas, exceeds the national average and our report ranked Las Vegas amongst the top three metros in the country.”
Two Las Vegas Review-Journal investigations found that most likely the two largest owners of residential real estate in the valley are institutional investors, with one company, Pretium, based out of New York, and the other, Invitation Homes, based out of Texas.
Nevada and corporate housing
A housing bill that made its way into Nevada’s special session this past November to limit corporate ownership of residential real estate showcased how weighted the issue has become in the state.
Senate Bill 10, which failed by one vote in the Assembly, would have limited corporate entities from purchasing no more than 1,000 homes in a calendar year.
Assemblymember Lisa Cole, a Republican from District 4 in Clark County, said she looks forward to seeing the details on how the Trump administration plans to address the corporate ownership issue. She said by creating a federal policy, Trump could tackle some of the major constitutional challenges of the proposed SB10 bill, including commerce clause and equal protection issues.
“However, there are still other constitutional issues in play, due process, takings, and the most important, interference with a property owner’s ability to sell their home to a willing buyer,” she said. “The legal concept of alienation is integral property right and the administration will need to be thoughtful in its approach to pass constitutional muster.”
Assemblymember Venician Considine, a Democrat for District 18, said she is happy the president has posted about the issue, however is hesitant and will reserve judgment to see if anything actually comes of it. She said movement on the federal level regarding housing is always tough, and is not sure if an executive order would be a good move given Congress already has multiple bills related to this issue in play.
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Considine said corporate housing is detrimental to the health of a local housing community and institutional investors have a proven track record of high eviction rates to raise rents.
“If you’ve got dozens and dozens of these houses in all these different communities and someone else is doing the work, you’re so far away from your tenant they’re not really human anymore,” she said. “It’s all just spreadsheets, so you don’t necessarily have to invest in the community, you don’t have to pay much attention to it and our laws in this state are really, really landlord friendly. So its easier, comparatively and profitable to be a landlord in Nevada than just about any other state.”