Report: Corporate Investors Bought One Quarter of Philadelphia Homes since 2016. Advocates are Raising Alarms.

A report from the Reinvestment Fund highlights the growing influence of corporate investors in Philadelphia’s housing market, where roughly one quarter of single-family homes were sold to corporate buyers since 2017, reports Aaron Moselle in The Philadelphia Tribune. 

Emily Dowdall, president of policy solutions at the nonprofit, said the data highlights the potential pitfalls of these purchases, which accounted for about a quarter of all single-family home sales. This includes the potential for decreased affordability and “crowding out” first-time and lower-income homebuyers.

According to Moselle, this is the first report to identify corporate investors and detail what they are doing with the properties they buy. “The research, conducted in partnership with Rutgers Law School, found that large and small investors were more likely to have code violations than homeowners. Large corporate investors were also more likely to file for an eviction compared to smaller investors.”

Housing advocates worry this will reduce affordability for prospective homebuyers and renters, driving them out of gentrifying neighborhoods. Corporate landlords also have a lower stake in the community and are less likely to make building improvements or respond to tenant complaints in rental properties.

The report recommends legislation to require more transparency about corporate-owned properties as well as enhanced enforcement of rental licenses and prioritizing individual buyers and nonprofits at sheriff auctions.