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November report from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy examined parcel data from almost 500 urban counties to map who owns residential property across the United States. The study focused on corporate ownership—defined broadly to include LLCs, partnerships, trusts, and other vehicles that can hide the true owner—and produced the most detailed nationwide view of corporate control to date.
Key findings show that about 9 % of residential parcels in the sampled counties are held by corporate entities, roughly one in eleven homes. Only 2.4 % of those parcels belong to firms headquartered outside the state, indicating that most corporate owners are local “mom‑and‑pop” investors. However, the concentration of corporate ownership spikes in several metros. In St. Louis, Baltimore, Miami, and Richmond, corporate owners hold between 17 % and 21 % of all residential parcels, largely through in‑state LLCs. Manhattan is an extreme outlier, with corporate ownership exceeding 50 % of its residential inventory.
Sun Belt cities show a distinct pattern of out‑of‑state corporate activity. Charlotte’s corporate share reaches 6.9 %, nearly three times the national average and representing almost a quarter of the city’s rental stock. Similar trends appear in Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Kansas City, where out‑of‑state investors dominate the rental market.
Because a single parcel can be a single‑family home or a multi‑unit complex, the researchers emphasized the concentration of corporate ownership rather than raw counts. They developed a consistent methodology for classifying ownership across different legal structures, enabling a reliable comparison of corporate influence across regions.
The study also tracks the emergence of “mega‑investors,” defined as owners of 1,000 or more single‑family units. Prior to 2011, no single investor held that many homes nationwide. By 2021, 32 institutional players controlled 446,000 single‑family houses, with the five largest owning roughly 300,000. Notable examples include American Homes 4 Rent, which reported 60,700 rentals in 2024, and Invitation Homes, which held over 80,000 in 2023. Both companies focus heavily on the Sun Belt, underscoring the region’s attractiveness to large‑scale investors.
Policy responses are mounting. States such as New York, California, and Texas have introduced legislation to cap the number of homes a single corporation can own. Local governments, including Baltimore and St. Louis, have strengthened rental registries and enforcement to increase transparency. Nonprofits and municipalities are experimenting with buyback programs to return investor‑owned homes to local or affordable housing portfolios. In the Twin Cities, a nonprofit acquired 345 properties from investment fund Pretium Partners before they entered the market. Rights‑of‑first‑refusal provisions—allowing tenants or nonprofits to purchase a property before the landlord sells—have been adopted in Atlanta and Chicago, further curbing large‑scale corporate acquisitions.
Overall, the report highlights a growing corporate footprint in urban housing, especially in fast‑growing Sun Belt markets, and documents the policy tools emerging to counterbalance this trend.
