Report: How Billionaire Buyers Are Making the Housing Crisis Worse

The financialization of the housing sector is driving up costs for ordinary families and keeping available units off the market.

2 minute read

October 28, 2024, 6:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Close-up of white sign with red FOR SALE letters and blurred brick single-family home in background.

Michael Flippo / Adobe Stock

The growing impact of institutional investors on the housing market is driving up housing costs for most Americans, asserts a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and Popular Democracy, reinforcing a common belief that the financialization of housing is making it a commodity out of reach for many ordinary households.

According to a Common Dreams article by Julia Conley, “The two groups found that a small number of wealthy individuals and their investment arms, who control "huge pools of wealth," have spent some of their vast resources on "predatory investment and wealth-parking in luxury housing"—contributing significantly to the crises of unaffordable rents, out-of-reach homeownership, and homelessness.”

While the housing crisis is usually blamed on a supply and demand mismatch, “the reality is that the owners of concentrated wealth... are playing a more pronounced role in residential housing, thereby creating price inflation, distortions, and inefficiencies in the market.”

The report includes an example from Los Angeles, where in 2017 there were 93,500 vacant units and roughly 36,000 unhoused residents. Meanwhile, investors are encroaching on the affordable housing market, buying up multifamily properties and mobile home parks and raising costs for tenants. “Corporate ownership of rental housing stock ‘has not translated into housing stability, particularly for working-class households and communities of color,’ reads the report.”

The report urges policymakers to create more public and non-profit housing that can’t be sold at a profit, expand protections for affordable homes, and limit corporate ownership and vacancy periods.

Monday, October 21, 2024 in Common Dreams

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

View from hilltop residential neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, California on a cloudy day.

LA Falling Behind on Housing Goals

Last year, the city permitted just 30 percent of the number of housing units needed to meet a growing need.

6 hours ago - LAist

Canada geese and ducks on the shore of a lake with red brick boathouse in background across the lake in Lincoln Park, Los Angeles.

Connecting Communities to Nature Close to Home

Los Angeles County’s Nature in Your Neighborhood program brings free, family-friendly wellness and nature activities to local parks, making it easier for residents to enjoy and connect with the outdoors.

May 27 - Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation

Children inside large slide at water park.

Palmdale’s Beloved Water Park Gets $2 Million Upgrade

To mark its 20th anniversary, DryTown Water Park has undergone major renovations, ensuring that families across the Antelope Valley continue to enjoy safe, affordable, and much-needed water-based recreation in the high desert.

May 27 - Antelope Valley Press

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.