In this episode of Mortgage Cowboys, we break down the growing narrative that big institutional investors are buying up all the homes, why that story doesn’t line up with what’s actually happening on the ground, and how media headlines and political talking points often oversimplify complex housing issues. From BlackRock and REITs to Zillow’s failed home-buying experiment, this conversation cuts through the noise and explains what’s really impacting inventory, affordability, and homeownership today.

We dive into:

• Whether institutional investors like BlackRock are actually buying single-family homes

• Why most buyers are not competing against Wall Street when making offers

• How REITs really work and what they actually own

• The difference between single-family housing and large-scale multifamily investments

• Why managing thousands of individual homes doesn’t make sense for big funds

• How misinformation around “corporate buyers” distracts from real affordability problems

• Why housing markets are regional not national and why that matters

  
  

If you’re asking questions like “Are investors buying all the houses?”, “Is BlackRock driving up home prices?”, or “Why does housing feel so unaffordable right now?” this episode is for you.

00:00 Welcome to Mortgage Cowboys

02:46 Debating the Reality of Institutional Buying

06:04 Regional Real Estate Market Dynamics

09:01 Zillow's Missteps in the Housing Market

12:55 Free Market and Regulatory Challenges

14:17 BlackRock's Market Influence

14:51 Calling Garrett for Insights

15:39 Debunking Myths About BlackRock

18:49 Warren Buffet's Real Estate Insight

23:03 Understanding REITs

25:46 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up