Description

References and Show Notes

Madison Lentz - Sarah Day - Lauren Dahlager - Seth Maney - Edwin Vardiman

Guest Speakers:

1. Elizabeth      Eddy - Director of Residential Development, Port of Cincinnati.

- Asset Manager for the Port’s CARE Homes initiative

- Vital source of information about institutional investors

1. Senator      Louis W. Blessing III - Ohio State senator

- Introduced to the Ohio State Senate Senate Bill 334, intended to limit bulk buying by institutional investors

- Provides institutional / governmental perspective, demonstrated span of interests in solving the problem.

Articles:

https://www.cincinnatiport.org/the-port-takes-action-to-protect-renters-and-promote-affordable-single-family-homeownership/

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/i-team/cincinnatis-port-buys-nearly-200-houses-from-out-of-state-landlord-in-receivership

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/12/08/port-buys-cincinnati-homes-deal-194-single-family-homes-announced/6434319001/

Episode Summary:

In this episode, our co-hosts Madison and Sarah have conversations with two people involved in the process defending Cincinnati and Ohio from institutional investors. The problem with such investors, as guests Senator Blessing and Liz Eddy explain, is their overwhelming buying power and lack of concern for the wellbeing of the neighborhoods they buy. Recently, such investors have bought more and more homes across the Cincinnati Area, driving up prices in neighborhoods that experience chronic low income and low household wealth. But the Port is fighting back. As the Director of Residential development explains, Cincinnati is taking the fight to the investors, buying up tranches of homes to develop into low-cost housing owned by Cincinnatians themselves.

But the encroachment of institutional investors into housing markets is not unique to Ohio. As Ohio State Senator Louis “Bill” Blessing details in our interview, from Ohio to California homeowners are feeling the heat of the modern economy. Many turn to institutional investors for an easy buyout. But these homes are now not in good hands, and rising rents have concerned Senator Blessing. He introduced Senate Bill 334, which gives local residents and occupants of multi-family housing the opportunity to match an institutional investor’s bid. Blessing is worried about the effect a continued rising cost of housing will affect both his area of Colerain, but Ohio as a whole.

Music:

sampled from Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn”, from the 1974 Album “Autobahn” distributed by Phillips Records. Remix and adaptation by Edwin Vardiman