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A comment on US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-family homes. Parent comment

Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by roywiggins on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @03:30PM (#46532151)
Would that not make rental properties entirely illegal? That seems... complicated
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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by JoshTriplett on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @03:35PM (#46532222)
There are people who unironically seem to want to do that.
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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by tbrownaw on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @03:45PM (#46532409)
I think the idea is that nobody would prefer to rent if given a choice, and that everybody could afford to own if not for the presence of landlords in the market.
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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by BeetleB on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @04:13PM (#46532912)
> I think the idea is that nobody would prefer to rent if given a choice

I'd wager about 25-50% of the population prefers renting. Lots of people don't want to be tied down.

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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by BobaFloutist on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @03:51PM (#46532490)
Which is obviously incorrect.
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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by cloverich on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @05:26PM (#46534005)
Possibly but that is not the main argument. The main argument is about the lesser of two evils. Do we want to prioritize the open market of SFH ownership, or do we want to prioritize (maximize) the number of people who can own a SFH. Banning multiple SFH ownership would target the latter, with the tradeoff of a restrictive ownership path for wealthy individuals.
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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by em-bee on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @03:34PM (#46532212)
the owner could rent out their own house and rent someone elses.

it does make sense if you want to save a nice retirement home for yourself or a place where you want to raise your children while you work and live somewhere else.

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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by compsciphd on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @03:37PM (#46532269)
that only works with a complete loop of landlord/renters and hence doesn't help anyone rent who can't own themselves....
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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by em-bee on Thursday January 08, 2026 @02:16AM (#46538190)
right, i was just trying to point out that it would not make renting single family homes illegal.

it doesn't have to be a closed loop though. owners could be (and in my example most likely would be) renting an apartment/flat in the city which is not privately owned)

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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by jay_kyburz on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @04:06PM (#46532787)
I figure many couples would live in one home, rent a second.

The children could have one each too, perhaps only once they reach 18.

I think there would be plenty of rental stock still.

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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by jimbob45 on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @06:04PM (#46534506)
Rental single-family homes should largely be illegal. Short-term housing should be largely limited to apartment buildings and more space-economic structures. Littering the landscape with empty houses only helps bank accounts.

Still, I'm more than cognizant that there must be huge exceptions carved out for any of these ideas.

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Re:US will ban Wall Street investors from buying single-fami... by triceratops on Wednesday January 07, 2026 @06:54PM (#46535047)
You find it hard to believe people may want to live in single-family homes temporarily? Or live in them without worrying about maintenance?
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