US cities where institutional investors hold the strongest grip on housing.

Mega investors own about 2–3% of U.S. single-family rental homes overall, but they control much larger shares in several Sun Belt markets including Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Charlotte and Tampa.

President Donald Trump announced a proposal to bar large institutional investors from buying more single-family rental homes. The announcement highlighted where big investors have been active in the housing market. Researchers say major investors own about 2 to 3% of the nation’s single-family rental stock overall. In some Sun Belt cities, those investors account for substantially larger shares of local rental markets. Key points: - Trump announced a proposal to bar "large institutional investors" from purchasing additional single-family rental homes. - Nationwide estimates put major investors at roughly 2–3% of single-family rental housing. - A 2023 Hamilton Project report found mega investors (owners of more than 1,000 homes) hold nearly 10% of rental units in the Atlanta metro and 27% of single-family rentals there; Jacksonville and Charlotte also showed high shares. - That report said 354,000 of 446,000 single-family homes owned by mega investors were concentrated in 20 markets, mainly in the Southeast and Southwest. - Housing researchers cited in the report say the central issue for high home prices is a shortage of homes, and some describe a ban on large investors as unlikely to resolve that root cause. Summary: Concentration of institutional ownership is limited at the national level but is higher in specific cities, which can raise local concerns about market power. Undetermined at this time.