The debate over who should own America’s houses has moved to Washington.
Sean Dobson has spent nearly four decades studying housing finance — from the rise of mortgage-backed securities to the collapse of the housing market and the emergence of institutional single-family rentals after the financial crisis.
Now the Amherst Group CEO finds himself defending the business he helped build.
The Trump administration wants to ban large investors from buying thousands of single-family houses and renting them out, an idea that has gained bipartisan support among lawmakers who argue that institutional buyers are driving up housing costs and crowding out individual buyers. Last week, the Senate passed a housing affordability bill that prevents institutional buyers that own 350 single-family homes from buying more.
In Episode 13 of In Conversation with Julie Segal, Dobson says the argument misunderstands how the market works and will do nothing to lower the cost of houses.
(Listen to the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or by scrolling to the end of this article.)
“Consumers still buy 98 percent or 99 percent of all homes that sell,” he said on the Institutional Investor podcast. “Do we really think people who bought less than 2 percent of the market drove home prices up 60 percent?”
Supporters of the proposal often point to private equity firms and other large investment managers as the culprits. But much of the capital behind those firms ultimately comes from pension funds, endowments, and foundations seeking long-term real estate returns.
Dobson said investors have been working with policymakers in Washington to reshape the proposal so it does not dismantle the institutional single-family rental industry.
Some of the most disruptive ideas initially floated — including forcing large investors to sell homes — appear to have been set aside, he said.
Investors are also pushing for exemptions for projects that add housing supply, including renovating distressed homes and building new rental communities.
“They’ve made themselves available to us,” Dobson said of administration officials. “We don’t agree on everything, but they’ve been willing to listen.”
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In Conversation with Julie Segal is a dialogue between Julie Segal, editor of Institutional Investor Magazine, with the people who have shaped and continue to influence the world of institutional investors. The podcast features both familiar names talking about new ideas and upstarts who want to do things differently.
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