CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wall Street went on a massive home-buying spree over the past several years and it's had a huge impact on young families looking to buy their first house.
Just last year, 17% of all home sales in Charlotte were made by hedge funds. They can offer cash to sellers, but opponents say it denies young families the dream of home ownership. Lawmakers are now looking to keep Wall Street out of the single-family housing market.
Investors discovered there's big money in buying starter homes and turning them into rentals. This has led to Wall Street-backed corporations gobbling up affordable homes. First-time homebuyers can't compete with these firms and it drives up prices for everyone.
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Investors say they're simply giving folks the chance to rent in neighborhoods they couldn't afford to buy.
Republicans and Democrats are taking two different approaches. Democrats want a law that would force companies with a lot of inventory to sell to families. Republicans want to tax these companies so heavily that it drives them out of the housing market.
One of the most prominent plans caps rental home ownership at 50% for most companies. If it passes, this would put hundreds of thousands of houses back on the market almost immediately.
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