Private Equity’s Role in the U.S. Housing Crisis

Racquel Brown, Esq.

January 2025

Private equity firms’ avaricious acquisition of housing stock in the U.S., especially after the 2008 subprime mortgage crash, has led to higher rents and decreased building maintenance; in the firms’ quest to maximize profit. As landlords, these firms are conducting wholesale evictions of the many tenants who cannot pay the increased rents. At the same time, the firms collude with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, quasi-government entities, to obtain financing to purchase properties in bulk at favorable rates. These actions are driving the U.S. housing crisis and rising homelessness.