A growing number of U.S. homes are being purchased by investors, squeezing out working Americans from the housing market, according to former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Nearly 27% of homes sold in the first quarter of 2023 were bought by investors, the highest share in over five years.

Investors have bought 265,000 homes in the first quarter of this year, causing many potential buyers to stay on the sidelines due to high mortgage rates and rising prices. Reich blames Wall Street, stating that rent is skyrocketing, and home ownership is becoming unattainable for millions of Americans.

Investors shifted to buying more modestly priced homes in bigger cities and areas where affordability is already stressed. Reich pointed out that investors often target neighborhoods with large communities of color, creating a vicious cycle where individuals are outbid and forced to rent from investors at high prices.

Reich supported a Democratic bill in 2024 to ban hedge funds and private equity firms from buying single-family homes, with hopes that it would increase the supply of homes for individual buyers. The decision now rests with President Donald Trump and the current Congress on whether such policies will be implemented.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Ex-Labor Secretary Robert Reich Says, ‘If We Want To Make Housing Affordable For Working People, We Must Get Wall Street Out Of Our Homes’