Scott Turner, the nominee for secretary of housing and urban development, is questioned by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) over corporate property purchases in Texas and other US states.
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A bill filed in the Texas Senate would limit corporate ownership of single-family rental homes to 10
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During Thursday’s Senate confirmation hearing of Scott Turner, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said 28% of all homes purchased in Texas in 2021 were purchased by corporations.
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Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill in 2023 that would have created a database of corporate ownership in the state.
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A bill filed in the Texas Senate would limit corporate ownership of single-family rental homes to 10
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During Thursday’s Senate confirmation hearing of Scott Turner, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said 28% of all homes purchased in Texas in 2021 were purchased by corporations.
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Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bill in 2023 that would have created a database of corporate ownership in the state.
A plan that would restrict corporate ownership of single-family homes is being proposed by Texas lawmakers.
Corporations would only be allowed to purchase ten single-family residences in the state if Senate Bill 443 were to pass.
What’s in the Bill?
We know:
The measure would establish a study to examine corporate homeownership in the state. In particular, how many single-family homes those firms hold and use as rental properties.
The purpose of the study is to ascertain how corporate ownership affects house prices and to identify any potential advantages companies may have over individual purchasers.
A publicly accessible database of company owners would be kept up to date every month by the state.
The bill’s second section would restrict corporations to owning no more than ten single-family residences.
Over ten units, corporate owners can be fined $100,000 each.
Senate Confirmation Hearings
Scott Turner, a former NFL player and state lawmaker from Texas and Donald Trump’s choice to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, responds to senators’ inquiries.
Reasons to be concerned:
At a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, the topic of corporate ownership—more especially, in Texas—was raised.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Scott Turner, Donald Trump’s choice to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about the state of corporate ownership in Texas.
During Trump’s first term, Turner, a former state lawmaker from Texas, was the director of the Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
“No investor in the United States owned more than 1,000 single-family homes in 2011.” Only five investors owned 300,000 properties between them by 2022, according to Warren. “In fact, in your home state of Texas in 2021, big investors moved in, and they bought a whopping 28% of all homes that went on the market.”
Turner concurred with Warren.
“I do believe we have a housing affordability crisis,” Turner stated.
Turner continued by promising to collaborate with the Senate to address America’s housing issues.
Housing Ownership Bill Vetoed
The Texas legislature approved Senate Bill 1979 in May 2023.
Under the plan, the Texas A&M University Texas Real Estate Research Center would have been tasked with researching the effects of corporate ownership of single-family homes and creating a database.
The number of dwellings that could be owned was unrestricted by the bill.
When the law got to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk in June of that year, he vetoed it.
“While Senate Bill No. 1979 is important, it is simply not as important as cutting property taxes,” the veto of Abbott read. “The legislature’s current focus should be on providing Texans with property tax breaks. Only when property tax relief has been passed can this bill be reexamined at a subsequent special session.
Abbott urged lawmakers to investigate how corporate buying affects Texas homebuyers less than a year later.
Abbotts declared, “I strongly support free markets,” in a post on the social media site X in March 2024. However, it appears that this massive corporate purchase of residential real estate is distorting the market and making it more difficult for the typical Texan to acquire a home. To safeguard Texas families, this ought to be included on the legislative agenda.
A bill was submitted to the House of Representatives that would merely establish the report.
Before being heard on the legislative floor, either of the proposed proposals would have to pass committee.
The Origin:The Senate confirmation hearing and measures submitted to the Texas legislature are the sources of the information in this article.
