President Trump has signed an executive order that restricts the ability of large institutional investors to use federally backed financing and programs to buy single-family homes. The order, titled “Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers”, does not implement an outright ban on institutional buying, but targets federal channels that facilitate such purchases.

The order directs several agencies to take action, including:

Preventing federal programs and government-sponsored enterprises (like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) from approving, insuring, guaranteeing, or securitizing sales of single-family homes to institutional investors.
Promoting “first-look” policies for individual buyers on federally owned foreclosed properties.
Directing the Treasury Secretary to develop definitions for “large institutional investor” and “single-family home” within 30 days.
Instructing the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to review institutional investor acquisitions for anti-competitive practices and prioritize enforcement.

The administration’s goal is to make homeownership more accessible for families, arguing that large investors have crowded out first-time buyers and driven up prices in certain markets.