State Sen. Glen Sturtevant has a bold new proposal to address the state’s housing shortage and affordability crisis : banning large investment firms from buying single-family homes in Virginia.
Why it matters : Investors have been snapping up a huge share of U.S. homes in recent years, according to multiple reports .
State of play: Sturtevant, who represents Chesterfield, introduced legislation to bar investment firms worth more than $50 million from purchasing homes in Virginia.
- The bill is meant to target big Wall Street firms, not smaller or local investors who may own a few properties, he told the Virginia Mercury .
- His hope is that with investment firms locked out, inventory could open up for local homebuyers who up until now have had to compete against hedge funds.
Zoom in: Sturtevant has pointed to some pretty stunning stats to back up the need.
- Around 4,300 single-family homes in the Richmond area are owned by investors, he tells Axios, citing data from John Burns Research & Consulting .
- That data shows investors of all sizes were behind around 18% of home purchases in the Richmond MSA for the last two years, compared to 11% a decade earlier.
- In Chesterfield alone, 9% of single-family home purchases in the last year were by investors, he said .