How Investor Groups Are Reshaping Dayton’s Housing Market, and Why It Matters.

By Traci Martin, Greater Dayton Realtist President & NAACP Housing Chair

Abandoned home in Westwood [Photo: Juliet Fromholt / WYSO]

A rise of investor groups and large corporations purchasing single-family homes has become an alarming trend. Instead of these properties going to individual families, they are increasingly being bought up in bulk, turned into rental units, and held for profit.

Corporate Landlords: These investor groups — often backed by Wall Street or private equity — often come with cash offers, easily outbidding local families who must rely on mortgages.

Shrinking Homeownership Opportunities: Every house that becomes a rental is one less house available for a first-time buyer or family trying to build wealth.

Future Projection: If this trend continues, experts warn that in the next five years, a much larger share of single-family homes will be held as rentals, leaving very little inventory for potential homeowners.

Why This Matters for Black Homeownership:

For Black families — already facing systemic barriers to mortgages, credit, and appraisals — this trend is especially alarming. Even when qualified, many families find themselves competing not with another local buyer, but with an investor group that can buy entire blocks in cash.

That means…

• Higher rents: Families are stuck paying more with no ownership stake.

• Lower inventory: There are fewer affordable homes available to purchase.

• Wealth gap widens: Renting does not provide equity or long-term wealth.

Local Impact for Dayton:

This issue isn’t just national. Dayton neighborhoods have already seen investor purchases rise — particularly in areas with lower-priced homes where working families would normally get their start.

If unchecked, the city could see:

• Neighborhoods dominated by absentee landlords.

• More transient residents, weakening community stability.

• Generational wealth opportunities disappearing as fewer families are able to buy.

Beyond investor activity, Black families continue to face steep challenges: Access to credit, down payment assistance, fair appraisals, zoning incentives for affordable housing, and protections against predatory investor practices.

What Needs to Change

To help reverse the trend, several steps are crucial:

1. Expand affordable housing stock — especially entry-level homes for first-time buyers.

2. Strengthen down payment and closing cost assistance, particularly for Black households.

3. Enforce fair lending and appraisal practices, ensuring Black buyers aren’t unfairly denied or undervalued.

4. Curb predatory investor activity by supporting policies that prioritize owner-occupants in affordable price ranges.

5. Educate families on estate planning and heirs’ property issues, so generational wealth isn’t lost through legal loopholes.

Conclusion

With declining affordability, systemic bias, and an investor-driven market tilting toward rentals. For Black Daytonians, the stakes could not be higher.

The fight for homeownership is about more than buying a house — it is about securing stability, building wealth, and preserving the future of entire communities.

The question now is how Dayton, alongside national policymakers and industry leaders, will rise to meet this moment.

---