Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff has launched an investigation into out of state companies that are buying up homes and using them as rental properties. This has driven up housing costs and made it more difficult for individual families to buy a house from what is available amidst corporate competition.
At the beginning of the year, UGA’s Terry College Dean Ben Ayers, reported that since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in late 2019 to the middle of 2024, the price of a house is up by about 53% nationwide, 65% in Georgia and 72% in Athens.
Ossoff’s investigation will look into 4 companies and request information about their home purchases in Georgia, how many single-family homes they own, fees being charged to renters, and more.
Ossoff says that “Large out-of-state companies are buying up homes and pushing Georgia homebuyers out of the market… this investigation [is] to get answers for Georgia families who are struggling to afford rent and homeownership.”
