Highly unlikely. National research highlights how large national investment corporations are buying up older, single-detached homes in need of repair and renting them out, often at higher prices. Researchers have found that, in memos to their investors, private equity firms identify housing scarcity as the main driver of their investment strategy and that they avoid areas with abundant housing. Additionally, mega-investors appear to specifically target homes averaging 1,850–2,000 sq ft, built after 2000, in fast-growing metro areas—predominantly Sunbelt suburban subdivisions. Small-batch infill construction spread across Salt Lake City’s urban neighborhoods is structurally incompatible with that model. 

Houston's record is particularly instructive. The city's lot-size reforms enabled more than 34,000 new townhomes between 2007 and 2020. And according to Houston Chronicle data (2026), large institutional investors accounted for only 1.9 percent of cash home purchases in the Houston metro in 2025—the largest such investor submitted 4,314 bids but completed just 105 purchases. 

Every reasonable person agrees that corporate entities outcompeting individual buyers is a problem. But it is the scarcity created by restrictive zoning that makes residential properties attractive to investors in the first place. National evidence points toward expanding the supply of homes as the primary solution, not restricting investors. Salt Lake City's housing affordability crisis — 16% of homes within reach of median income, 9th most expensive state market — is a supply crisis, not primarily an investor crisis. Expanding Housing Options, allowing more homes to be built in our communities that are naturally more affordable, addresses the root cause.