Executive Order Targeting Single Family Home Ownership

The Executive Order issued on January 20, 2026, titled " Stopping Wall Street From Competing with Main Street Homebuyers," directs a coordinated federal response to limit the use of federally backed programs in facilitating the acquisition of single‑family homes by large institutional investors. Within 30 days of the Order, the Secretary of the Treasury—working in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy—is required to develop formal definitions of both "large institutional investor" and "single‑family home" for purposes of implementation across federal agencies.

Within 60 days of the Order, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Administrator of General Services, and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency are directed, as appropriate, to issue guidance preventing federal agencies and government‑sponsored enterprises from, among other things, providing for, approving, insuring, guaranteeing, securitizing, or otherwise facilitating the acquisition of a single‑family home by a large institutional investor when that home could otherwise be purchased by an individual owner‑occupant.

Collectively, these measures are intended to ensure that federally backed financing, guarantees, and asset dispositions are aligned with the policy goal of prioritizing homeownership opportunities for families and first‑time buyers, rather than institutional investment in existing single‑family housing stock.

Practical Considerations Pending Agency Guidance: While the Executive Order establishes clear policy direction, its practical impact will depend on the guidance issued by federal agencies and government‑sponsored enterprises in the coming months. Until those definitions and implementing guidance are finalized, market participants face uncertainty regarding how broadly "large institutional investor" will be defined, which transactions will be restricted, and how existing financing programs will be affected. For lenders, investors, and other housing market participants, the forthcoming guidance will be critical in determining eligibility for federally backed financing, compliance obligations, and transaction structuring considerations. In the interim, the Order signals increased federal scrutiny of institutional activity in single‑family housing and a heightened regulatory risk for transactions that could be viewed as competing with owner‑occupant homebuyers.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.