https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/21/how-wall-street-bought-single-family-homes-and-put-them-up-for-rent.html

According to a study by Business Insider, during the third quarter, these firms accounted for 44% of the purchases of single-family homes, compared to independent operations.

This increasing presence of private equity in the residential property market has raised concerns about its impact on housing prices and the ability of individual homebuyers to compete.

The latest version of the housing-villain story targets private-equity firms and hedge funds, broadly "institutional investors" that have supposedly been outcompeting regular homebuyers and are therefore responsible for the skyrocketing rents and home prices of 2020 and 2021.

Private equity has been rapidly growing its share of the housing market, taking advantage of a housing crisis and in some cases exacerbating it.

According to census data analyzed by the National Multifamily Housing Council, a lobby representing landlords who own multifamily properties, 38 percent of multifamily units were owned by individual investors in 2021, and investors bought 24 percent of single-family homes sold in 2021.