Except:
“Cincinnati government entity outbid more than a dozen investment firms to buy 194 homes in and around the city, a move meant to keep tenants in their homes and private investors out of their neighborhoods. The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority agreed last month to pay $14.5 million for the properties scattered throughout Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati. While continuing to operate them as rentals, the agency said it intends to upgrade and eventually sell the homes to their primarily low-to-middle-income tenants …
“The program is the most aggressive response yet by local officials looking to keep homes out of the hands of professional investors. Publicly traded companies, private-equity firms and thousands of smaller investors have been buying up single-family homes and renting them out, usually to people who can’t afford the steep down payments. Laura Brunner, CEO of the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, worries that a rental-industry ‘feeding frenzy’could lock families out of homeownership. Investors now account for about 18% of all U.S. home sales, up from about 8% in 2009 …”
The Wall Street Journal - January 19, 2022
Story By: Konrad Putzier and Will Parker
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