Why do we allow foreigners or hedge funds to dominate housing or rental markets? Home ownership, accumulating equity, and affordable housing is essential to a strong middle class, we need some antitrust enforcement and/or restrictions that.
Metro Atlanta has become ground zero for an investor takeover of the American Dream. Long the bedrock of family wealth for the middle class, single-family homes have been snatched up in the thousands by private equity firms and publicly traded companies, converted into rental properties and bundled into complex investment vehicles. These firms did not create Atlanta’s affordability crisis. A generational housing shortage, inflated construction costs and a surge in consumer demand have all contributed to the historic rise in prices. But a growing body of evidence leaves little doubt that the flood of cash from investors has exacerbated it. “They go after every listing under $500,000 … it’s like clockwork,” said Maura Neill, a realtor in Alpharetta. “The property gets listed and, sight unseen, they make offers within an hour.”
Metro Atlanta has become ground zero for an investor takeover of the American Dream. Long the bedrock of family wealth for the middle class, single-family homes have been snatched up in the thousands by private equity firms and publicly traded companies, converted into rental properties and bundled into complex investment vehicles. These firms did not create Atlanta’s affordability crisis. A generational housing shortage, inflated construction costs and a surge in consumer demand have all contributed to the historic rise in prices. But a growing body of evidence leaves little doubt that the flood of cash from investors has exacerbated it. “They go after every listing under $500,000 … it’s like clockwork,” said Maura Neill, a realtor in Alpharetta. “The property gets listed and, sight unseen, they make offers within an hour.”
