AUSTIN, Texas — Two Texas lawmakers say the Legislature should be doing more to make sure more homes in the state are being sold to people, not companies.
In a letter sent to the chairman of the House Business and Industry Committee, State. Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) said data shows institutional buyers – defined by the National Association of Realtors as companies, corporations or LLCs – bought 28% of Texas residences in 2021. Several Texas counties saw even higher percentages, including Tarrant (52%), Rockwall (45%), Midland (44%), Dallas (43%) and Travis (41%) counties.
Hinojosa said that the committee should:
- "Assess current rates of home ownership by private equity firms in Texas and study how this may impact the housing market for first-time homebuyers
- Review policies and procedures government entities currently use, if any, to track the number of homes being purchase by private equity firms, as well as being leased out by private equity firms
- Recommend policy changes to ensure private equity firm homeownership does not negatively impact the ability of first-time homebuyers to participate in the housing market
- Consider ways to identify institutional buyers that are private equity firms and/or hedge funds in the housing market
- Consider new legislation in Texas to free up the housing market for families, like HB 1057 88(R) which would prohibit investment firms from purchasing a single-family home until the property has been on the market a month, and the impact of legislation like a bill recently introduced to Congress to ban hedge funds from buying and owning single-family homes"
During the regular session, Hinojosa filed two bills – the mentioned HB 1057 and HB 1056, which would have required banks or investment firms to register with the comptroller's office if they lease homes. Neither bill passed.
State Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) threw her support behind Hinojosa's mission, saying that her interim change request deserves the Legislature's attention.
"Some first-time homebuyers can't compete with investors with cash," Goodwin wrote in a post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter. "Are our housing prices due to demand including a large percentage of large corporate investors? We should find out."
In her letter, Hinojosa referenced data published in an April 2023 Texas Monthly article. You can read that article here.
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