The Business of Housing Inequity: Securitizing Wall-Street Profit

Abstract

This research aims to establish a relationship between the housing market crash in 2008 and the subsequent rise in single-family home renters. Through evaluation of rental price increases over time, interviews of current tenants, and asset securitization reports, it becomes clear how the market of promising rent checks to investors has created an empire on the backs of those evicted from their homes. This paper first introduces the issue and then discusses how two distinct companies have operated within Minnesota to perpetuate the cycle of wealth and housing disparity. The quantitative data is cast in evaluation with the qualitative data to result in an analysis exploring how these markets and disparities impact communities on the ground. These results are put into conversation with what online authors are reporting and what tenants are claiming, confirming the truth about the housing market and those profiting from it. The final portion of this article works to explore what direction the future should go, offering contemplations of advocacy efforts, recommendations, and possible policy reforms. All of the above combines to reveal that while only time will tell where the market is headed right now, increasing efforts and putting media attention on companies results in events such as Blackstone selling off its shares of Invitation Homes.