'People Live in Homes, Not Corporations': Donald Trump To Block Wall Street To Restore Real American Homeownership

President Donald Trump has moved to curb Wall Street's growing influence over US homeownership by signing a sweeping executive order that limits institutional investors from buying single-family homes.

The order was signed at the White House on 20 January 2026, as part of a broader push to address rising housing costs across the US.

He explained that the policy is designed to help first-time buyers and middle-class families who have been priced out of the market. The measure sets out how federal agencies will be used to rebalance US housing away from corporate ownership.

The executive order marks a significant intervention in the US housing market. It signals a shift in federal policy at a time when housing affordability has become a major political and economic concern.

Trump's Executive Order Targets Wall Street's Role in Housing

The order, titled 'Stopping Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers,' outlines Trump's view that the American dream of owning a home has slipped out of reach for many families.

In the opening section, the US president wrote that 'buying and owning a home has long been considered the pinnacle of the American dream and a way for families to invest and build lifetime wealth.'

Trump linked the decline in affordability to economic conditions inherited from the previous administration. He said, 'recent high inflation and interest rates' had made homeownership 'increasingly out of reach for too many of our citizens, especially first-time homebuyers.'

This new executive order highlights the growing role of Wall Street-backed investors in US housing. Trump noted that 'a growing share of single-family homes, often concentrated in certain communities, have been purchased by large Wall Street investors, crowding out families seeking to buy homes.'

He added that individual buyers face stiff competition, saying, 'hardworking young families cannot effectively compete for starter homes with Wall Street firms and their vast resources.'

'People Live in Homes, Not Corporations'

Trump used strong language to criticise corporate ownership of residential neighbourhoods. In the executive order, he shared an alarming situation, claiming that communities once shaped by middle-class families are now 'run by faraway corporate interests.'

He summed up the administration's position with the phrase 'people live in homes, not corporations.'

The order directs several federal agencies, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Treasury Department, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, the General Services Administration and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to act within 60 days. They are instructed to prevent federal support for purchases that allow large institutional investors to acquire single-family homes meant for owner-occupants.

Agencies are also told to promote sales to individual buyers through first-look policies, stronger disclosure rules and safeguards against circumvention. However, the order allows narrowly tailored exceptions for build-to-rent developments that are planned and constructed specifically as rental communities.

Going Beyond Executive Action

Trump made clear the order is intended to be the start of a longer process. He directed senior White House staff to draft legislation to codify the policy into law.

The aim is to ensure that restrictions on institutional investors remain in place beyond the scope of executive authority.

Trump wrote that his administration 'will take decisive action to stop Wall Street from treating America's neighbourhoods like a trading floor and empower American families to own their homes.'

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