I tried for years to buy a home. Wall Street always beat me — Trump made the right call

I tried to bargain my archetypal location for years. I ne'er thought it would beryllium truthful difficult. But I ran into barriers that I didn’t cognize existed — 1 of which President Donald Trump is trying to interruption down with an executive order he signed connected January 20th.

I’m a 30-something antheral surviving successful Marco Island, Florida, a assemblage with a affluent past and beauteous beaches. It’s been a fashionable spot for decades, and naturally, that’s pushed prices higher. The emblematic location present costs successful the precocious six figures, with a batch of homes selling for much than a cardinal bucks. That makes homebuying hard capable for young people, particularly young families.

But what makes it adjacent much hard is that a immense fig of homes aren’t adjacent utilized arsenic homes. About one retired of each 4 homes on Marco Island is utilized arsenic a short-term rental. While they were built for families and first-time homebuyers similar me, they aren’t really disposable for purchase. A batch of them are owned by regular radical who’ve decided to rent retired their aged place. But others are owned by organization investors — i.e., companies arsenic acold distant arsenic New York City.

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Let’s beryllium clear: These companies person zero ties to the island. But they’ve been snapping up homes near and close anyway. That’s been particularly existent arsenic homes person been rebuilt aft the devastating hurricane that made landfall present successful 2017. The data shows that my region has since had immoderate of the highest enactment from organization investors successful America. And that’s a occupation for homebuyers similar me.

These organization investors are pricing folks out. It’s the robust instrumentality of proviso and demand. There are a batch of would-be homebuyers similar maine successful the area, but erstwhile large companies bargain homes first, that leaves less properties for the remainder of us. More radical competing for less homes is guaranteed to spike prices. That helps explicate wherefore section location prices person consistently risen implicit the past decade. Again, not each of it, but not nary of it, either.

What’s more, the organization investors are buying homes successful all-cash deals. It’s each but intolerable for mean radical to compete. Even if we hold to the aforesaid merchantability terms arsenic an investor, a homeowner is ever going to take the all-cash offer. I get it: It’s little risky, and you get the wealth close away. But what accidental bash mundane Americans person of beating Wall Street?

In 2021, I made offers connected 4 oregon 5 places without success. I ever offered a competitory bid astatine oregon adjacent the asking price, but it didn’t help. By the mediate of 2021, I gave up connected a single-family location and settled for a tiny condo instead. But things person lone gotten much hard since past arsenic much organization investors person piled into the market. I cognize a batch of radical — landscapers, waiters, sportfishing guides, you sanction it — who are struggling to find adjacent a condo. That’s however atrocious things are.

It didn’t usage to beryllium similar this. In 2011, there wasn’t an capitalist successful America who owned much than 1,000 single-family homes. Less than 15 years later, the 5 largest investors unsocial ain much than 300,000 homes. And it’s not conscionable successful places similar Marco Island.

In Atlanta, about 25% of homes are owned by large investing companies. In Jacksonville, it’s 21%. As of 2022, there were 12 large cities where investors owned much than 10% of each homes. That fig has surely grown since then, and with it, the homeownership affordability situation has grown, too. In the 2nd 4th of 2025, investors bought 1 retired of each 3 caller homes successful America. That’s a gut punch.

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Is determination anticipation for imaginable homebuyers similar me? Hopefully. President Trump’s caller enforcement bid sets the signifier for caller national rules protecting Main Street homebuyers from Wall Street. He said, "people unrecorded successful homes, not corporations," — and he’s right. That’s wherefore the president is exploring a assortment of unilateral actions and besides moving with Congress to enact this betterment into law. I couldn’t beryllium much supportive.

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The critics — particularly connected Wall Street — accidental that cracking down connected organization investors won’t bash overmuch to little the outgo of homes. While that whitethorn beryllium existent successful places wherever investors don’t ain immoderate homes, it doesn’t clasp up successful places similar Marco Island. If much homes are available, prices volition alteration — oregon astatine slightest not emergence astir arsenic quickly. Besides, erstwhile it comes to lowering location prices, you person to commencement somewhere. Banning organization investors from consuming monolithic numbers of single-family homes is simply a bully choice. And hopefully it volition conscionable beryllium the archetypal betterment of many.

One thing’s for sure: People similar maine request help. We’re not asking for a handout oregon a bailout oregon thing similar that.  We conscionable privation a accidental to bargain a location — and halt getting bushed retired by billionaires connected Wall Street. I don’t recognize wherefore they’re blocking america to statesman with. And I’m grateful to President Trump for warring to get them retired of the way.

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