GA Lawmaker Says This Is What's Driving Up GA Housing Costs

GEORGIA — U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is investigating housing in Georgia after he says home costs are rising due to out-of-state company buyers.

The senator from Georgia is investigating four large-scale "corporate landlords," claiming national businesses are buying single-family homes and increasing prices for families. Ossoff added the purchases also minimize the number of homes available to families.

“Large out-of-state companies are buying up homes and pushing Georgia homebuyers out of the market,” Ossoff said said in a news release published Wednesday. “I’m launching this investigation to get answers for Georgia families who are struggling to afford rent and homeownership.”

Ossoff has named Invitation Homes, Main Street Renewal, Tricon Residential and Progress Residential as part of his probe.

He sent each one of the companies letters, seeking information related to Georgia-based property acquisitions, business practices and other items.

Details he requested are linked to the businesses' home purchases in Georgia, the number of single-family homes they own and fees being charged to renters.

In his probe, Ossoff cited a Government Accountability Office report that showed corporations own 1 in 4 single-family rental homes in metro Atlanta.

According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, corporate landlords are a mainstay in the heart of Georgia. Tricon Residential and Invitation Homes were on the commission's list of corporate buyers in an October 2024 report.

However, a past report from Atlanta Business Chronicle stated a majority of metro Atlanta rental properties were managed by American Homes 4 Rent.

The news outlet cited a previous Securities and Exchange Commission filing and reported American Homes managed more than 5,800 properties.

The commission's report showed nearly 10,000 of the corporate-owned single-family rentals were in Gwinnett County, the most in the metro.

Henry, Cobb, Fulton, Paulding and DeKalb counties followed suit, ranging from about 5,800-3,900 rentals accordingly. Douglas County had 2,940 corporate-owned rentals as of October, and Cherokee County had 2,472 of these properties.

Corporations owned 1,085 rentals in Forsyth County and 802 in Bartow County, the commission's data showed.