My wife Rocky and I started our business in a double-wide trailer. We worked hard, saved, and eventually bought a home. That’s the American story. Work hard, build something, and own a piece of the dream.
But that dream is slipping through the fingers of a generation.
Last week, President Trump announced he’s moving to ban large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. He’s right. Housing has become unaffordable, and Wall Street buying up neighborhoods is making it worse. Congress needs to back him up with legislation that sticks.
That’s why I introduced the Families First Housing Act with Congressman Josh Riley (D-NY). The bill targets properties controlled by federal entities like FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and USDA. When these federally backed homes go on the market, families get an exclusive 180-day window to buy them. During that period, only families purchasing a primary residence, nonprofits, local governments, and community land trusts can buy. Not hedge funds or corporate landlords.
Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building on November 15, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The bill also requires properties to be priced at fair market value based on independent appraisals, mandates quarterly public reporting on all sales, and imposes real penalties on federal employees who try to bypass these protections.
Look at what’s already happening in North Carolina. In Charlotte, Wall Street-backed landlords control more than 11,000 single-family homes, about 18 percent of the market. In Raleigh, it’s roughly 13 percent. These are homes where families should be building equity, not paying rent to an investment firm in New York.
And this transformation happened fast. In 2011, virtually no investors owned single-family rental portfolios of this size nationwide. By 2015, institutional investors owned up to 300,000 homes. During COVID, they bought even more amid unprecedented market disruption and historically low borrowing costs.
The impact on young families has been devastating. Only about 30 percent of Americans under 35 own a home today, compared to roughly 60 percent of their parents’ generation. It’s not because they aren’t working hard. It’s because they’re getting outbid by firms with billions in capital, often paying all cash, well above asking price. Home prices rose about 55 percent between 2020 and 2025, while wages didn’t keep pace. When families compete against institutional money, they lose.
I see this reality every time I’m home in the 10th district, and as a dad, it hits close to home. Will my daughters be able to buy a home like Rocky and I did? Or will they spend their lives enriching corporate landlords who see homes as nothing more than assets on a balance sheet?
The Families First Housing Act is a critical first step. But it’s just one piece of the puzzle. We also need more housing supply, zoning reform, and broader restrictions on institutional ownership. I’m calling on my colleagues on both sides to keep pushing on this with me. When the same corporations that manage your 401(k) are bidding against the house you’re trying to buy, something is fundamentally wrong.
I spent years as a Green Beret fighting for this country. Rocky and I built a business from nothing. Now I’m in Congress doing the same work, just in a different way. Fighting for people who are getting squeezed by a system rigged for the powerful and the connected. Homeownership isn’t just about having a place to live. It’s how working families build wealth, how communities stay stable, and how people build a real stake in their future. When Wall Street becomes a national landlord, Main Street loses.
Do we want the next generation to have the same shot we did? I do. And I’m going to keep fighting until families come first.
Congressman Pat Harrigan represents North Carolina’s 10th congressional district. He is a U.S. Army Green Beret veteran and small business owner.
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