Funny you mention homes sitting on the market—I was just telling my neighbor how I’m seeing more “for sale” signs hanging around longer than usual. But then, a decent place in our area still gets a bidding war going if it’s priced halfway reasonably. It’s like the market can’t make up its mind. I do worry that if they clamp down on corporate buyers, sellers might just jack up prices to make up for fewer offers, or maybe they’ll get even pickier about who they sell to. Hard to say if it’ll really help folks like us in the end... reminds me of when we bought our house—felt like playing musical chairs, but with way more paperwork and stress.
It’s wild how the market’s got this split personality right now. I’ve been in the game for a while, and honestly, I can’t remember a time when you’d see both stale listings and bidding wars on the same block. Last month, I toured a place that had been sitting for 60 days—needed some work, sure, but nothing crazy. Meanwhile, two streets over, a house with a slightly newer kitchen went $40k over asking in three days. It’s like buyers are picky about what they’ll fight over, but if something checks enough boxes, all bets are off.
About the whole corporate investor ban thing... I get why people are frustrated with big companies scooping up homes. But from what I’ve seen, it’s not always as simple as “kick out the investors and prices drop.” Sometimes, when there are fewer buyers, sellers just dig in their heels and wait for their number. Or they only want to deal with folks who can close fast and waive contingencies—doesn’t always help the average buyer. Plus, I’ve seen plenty of regular folks lose out to cash offers from other families, not just corporations.
Reminds me of when I bought my first rental back in 2012. There were a handful of us at the open house—one guy with a spreadsheet, another couple with their parents in tow, and me just hoping my financing would come through. The seller ended up picking the offer that could close in two weeks, no inspection. Not a hedge fund in sight.
I guess my point is, even if they ban corporate buyers, there’s always going to be some new wrinkle. Maybe more flippers jump in, or maybe sellers get choosier. The market’s got a mind of its own. At the end of the day, it still feels like musical chairs... except now someone keeps changing the song halfway through.
It’s funny, I’ve watched sellers hold out for months thinking they’ll get that magic number, even when the only offers are from regular folks scraping together down payments. The idea that banning corporate buyers will suddenly make homes affordable feels a bit naive to me. If anything, I wonder if it just shifts the competition to small-time investors or cash-rich buyers who can still outmaneuver first-timers. Do you think we’d actually see more owner-occupiers win, or just a different flavor of investor?
- Seen this play out a bunch—take out the big corporate buyers and you still have flippers, small landlords, and folks with family money ready to pounce.
- Most first-timers are still up against cash offers or buyers waiving contingencies. That’s tough to beat, even without Wall Street in the mix.
- Sellers usually chase top dollar, no matter who’s buying. If the price is right, they don’t care if it’s a family or an LLC.
- Maybe you’d see a few more owner-occupiers win, but I doubt it’d move the needle much unless there are bigger changes—like more inventory or down payment help.
- Honestly, it’s just a different set of deep pockets at the table.
Not sure I totally buy the idea that banning corporate buyers wouldn’t help at all. Like, yeah, there’s still gonna be flippers and people with family money, but those big companies can buy up whole neighborhoods at once. That’s not something your average small landlord does.
“Honestly, it’s just a different set of deep pockets at the table.”
I get what you’re saying, but if you take one set of deep pockets out, doesn’t that at least thin out the competition a little? I mean, even if it’s just a few less all-cash offers on every house, maybe that gives regular folks a shot.
It’s true—inventory is a huge problem and we need more starter homes getting built. But man, when I was looking last year, like half the open houses had reps from some management company or LLC. Maybe it wouldn’t change everything overnight, but I’d settle for “a little less impossible” right now...
