Lawmakers and housing advocates have pushed repeatedly for limits on corporations that buy up single-family homes and then rent them out for income. Gov. Greg Abbott called for a crackdown on the practice last year, saying it seemed to be “distorting the market and making it harder for the average Texan to purchase a home.”
But efforts to curb so-called institutional homebuying have gained little traction this legislative session. A pair of Democratic bills that would cap the number of homes private equity groups can own hasn’t garnered a hearing or any Republican support. A GOP bill to study the practice, which Abbott vetoed last session during a property tax fight, has similarly gone nowhere.
The corporate buying spree erupted in 2020 and 2021 when mortgage rates were at historic lows. Purchasing has since slowed amid the larger housing downturn, but advocacy groups and some lawmakers say they are still concerned that investors are beating out potential homebuyers, and could also be driving up eviction and rental rates…