New Home Insights Podcast

A note: this conversation was recorded on March 17, 2025, so any references to pending legislation reflect the state of the debate at that time. The debate over institutional ownership of single-family rental (SFR) homes has moved from industry trade publications to the floor of the U.S. Congress. A bill currently working its way through the legislative process would restrict large investors from buying additional SFR homes and require build-to-rent (BTR) communities to be sold off within seven years of completion. But what does the research actually say? Josh Coven, Assistant Professor of Real Estate at Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business, joined the New Home Insights Podcast to walk through his findings — and the data challenges some of the most widely held assumptions about institutional investors, housing prices, and rental supply.