Republican Rep. Pat Harrigan of North Carolina is taking decisive action to ensure the American Dream of homeownership isn’t hijacked by Wall Street, introducing legislation that would prioritize families over institutional investors in the housing market. The Daily Caller reports the bill is titled “The Families First Housing Act of 2026.”
The legislation follows President Donald Trump’s recent Truth Social post calling for Congress to codify protections that stop large investors from buying up single-family homes—because, as Trump put it, “People live in homes, not corporations.” Harrigan echoed the president’s concerns, emphasizing that homeownership is increasingly out of reach for young Americans.
“Homeownership is slipping out of reach for a lot of Americans, especially young families,” Harrigan told the Caller. “Only about 30 percent of Americans under 35 own a home today, roughly half the rate of a generation ago. That gap didn’t appear overnight, and it’s not because people stopped working hard. More and more, families are getting outbid by large financial firms buying up single-family homes at scale.”
The bill, co-led in the House by Democrat Josh Riley, establishes a 180-day “first look period” that gives families priority to purchase federally-backed homes owned, foreclosed, or managed by agencies including the FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Department of Agriculture. If any entity violates this first-look period, the agency must publicly report the violation, impose fines of $100,000 or one-third of the sale price, and reverse the sale, provided it doesn’t breach contracts.
The legislation also requires public transparency: each agency must maintain a website listing eligible properties, the number sold to qualified first-look buyers, the pricing method, and the ratio of sale prices to market value.
The timing is notable. During Biden’s presidency, record-high inflation and soaring home prices have made homeownership increasingly unattainable for Americans. In cities like Charlotte and Raleigh, as of 2022, 18% and 13% of single-family homes, respectively, were owned by major institutional investors—and those numbers are rising.
Harrigan concluded: “People live in homes, not corporations, and institutional investors shouldn’t be locking families out. The Families First Act, which I introduced with Josh Riley, helps ensure federally backed homes go to families first, not Wall Street.”
With bipartisan support and Trump’s endorsement, this bill aims to return housing to its rightful owners: hard-working American families. It’s a clear statement that the government’s role should be helping citizens, not enabling financial firms to monopolize the American Dream.
