An unsettling trend has emerged since the beginning of the pandemic — actually, a bunch of them have — but this one concerns the roof over your head. Hedge funds, private equity firms and other large institutional investors have been devouring the single family housing market. Numbers differ a few percentage points depending on the source, but in 2022 institutional investors swallowed approximately 30 percent of the available single family housing units, with that number exploding to nearly 45 percent in 2023. In a housing market already suffering a catastrophic shortage, the goal of swallowing up every available ranch and duplex in sight is simple, to create a permanent class of renters.
Home ownership was once considered the American dream, now it’s a mirage. You can see it off in the distance, but no matter how long or far you walk, you’ll never get there. Vulture capital firms aren’t gobbling houses up to sell them for less. They want you to rent and supply their investors with a never-ending stream or recurring revenue. Home ownership used to be the premier way for young people to invest in their future by building equity, but that’s a pipe dream now. There are no houses to buy and what little inventory there is has been hoovered up by hedge fund chuds.
This article originally appeared on NJ.com.