Scapegoating Institutional Investors

Politicians and pundits repeatedly single out institutional landlords (BlackRock/Blackstone) as the root of housing unaffordability, but purchase and ownership data show they comprise a tiny share of the single‑family stock (<1%). Policies built on that scapegoat—outright bans or symbolic rhetoric—risk misdirecting attention from zoning, supply, and financing constraints that actually drive prices. — Correcting the narrative matters because it redirects policy from performative restrictions toward concrete supply‑side fixes and prevents harmful, legally fraught interventions that would have limited effect.