Gen Z wants what previous generations had: the ability to work hard, save money, buy a home, build equity, and pass something on to their children. The President’s plan helps to restore that pathway.
This article is a lightly edited transcript of the “Here’s the Point” podcast by Ryan Helfenbein, executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center.
This week, President Trump sent shockwaves through Wall Street when he announced via Truth Social his plan to ban large corporations and foreign entities from purchasing single-family homes. The proposal targets institutional investors like Blackstone and other real estate investment trusts that have been buying up American homes by the hundreds of thousands — driving up prices and locking out first-time buyers.
Political support came swiftly from both sides of the aisle. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, announced that he would introduce legislation to codify the ban, saying, “Millions of young Americans have been locked out of the American Dream.” Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., called it “huge,” while Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., signaled support. Even Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said she’s been advocating for years to limit Wall Street from buying up America’s homes.
The market reaction was severe. Invitation Homes tumbled 6 percent. Blackstone fell 9 percent. American Homes 4 Rent dropped 6.3 percent. And Wall Street understood completely: Trump means business. But for Main Street families, this proposal offers real hope.
So how should Christians think about this? Here are four points:
First, the housing crisis is real, and it’s getting worse.
The average first-time homebuyer today is over the age of 40. The average homebuyer overall is in their 50s. Compare that to 1981 under President Ronald Reagan, when the average homebuyer was 31 and the average first-time home buyer was just 29 years old.
But it’s not just about age. It’s about affordability. In 1981, the median home price was around $69,000, which equals roughly $238,000 in today’s dollars. The actual median home price today is $415,000. That’s 74 percent higher than it should be if prices had kept up with inflation. Meanwhile, median household income grew only 45 percent, when adjusted for inflation, from 1984 to 2021, while home prices increased 104 percent.
Young families today face home prices that have grown more than twice as fast as their wages. No wonder socialism sounds appealing to a generation that feels locked out.
Second, multiple factors drive this crisis.
More than 574,000 single-family homes are owned by major financial institutions, heavily concentrated in specific markets. Some Sunbelt cities see institutional ownership reach as high as 25 percent of single-family rentals.
Foreign ownership compounds the problem. Chinese buyers alone spent $13.7 billion on U.S. homes between April 2024 and March 2025, purchasing 11,700 homes, with 71 percent being all-cash offers. China should own $0 worth of American property — zero.
Add interest rates over 6 percent and federal tax policy that keeps Boomers from selling for fear of capital gains taxes, and you have a perfect storm constraining supply and inflating prices.
Trump’s proposal targets this directly. As Trump said plainly: “People live in homes, not corporations.”
Third, home ownership remains the pathway to prosperity and security for most Americans.
The majority of families’ net worth is tied up in their home. Renters have no financial security for their future. They’re building someone else’s wealth, not their own.
This matters for civilization itself. When young people can work hard, save money, buy a home, build equity, and pass something on to their children, you have a stable society. When that pathway is blocked, you breed radicalization. A nation of renters is a nation primed for Marxist revolution.
Finally, this debate reveals a deeper crisis of economic and spiritual illiteracy.
The rising interest in socialism isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s happening because young people feel the system is rigged against them. When we see corporate consolidation of housing, foreign cash buyers, and inflation-driven price spikes, they have a point about the grievances, even if socialism isn’t the answer.
Christians should understand this as a stewardship principle. God created man in His image to live in a material world and steward it. Owning a home isn’t merely material ambition — it’s fulfilling the creation mandate in Genesis 1 and 2.
We wonder why fertility rates for native-born Americans are falling off a cliff, but for those who feel like they don’t have ownership in the future, this is not shocking in the slightest. Paul warned Timothy that anyone who fails to provide for his family is worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8).
Home ownership should be a vehicle for the family first, not for venture capitalists or real estate trusts.
Our middle class is shrinking. Trump’s proposal recognizes that policies should grow this demographic, not marginalize it. By targeting institutional and foreign buyers and urging Congress to codify permanent protections, Trump is addressing multiple pressure points at once.
Make no mistake: Gen Z wants what previous generations had: the ability to work hard, save money, buy a home, build equity, and pass something on to their children. This proposal helps restore that pathway.
At the end of the day, we all must answer this question: Do we exist to serve the needs of the free market, or does the free market exist as an engine to serve our needs? Banning multinational corporations from buying up residential properties and pricing Americans out of homeownership is a moral issue, just like prostitution. And just like prostitution, the free market must always have moral limits and constraints. Just as man is fallen, so is the idea of just letting the market decide. We need just constraints. And to put it another way: The free market was created for man; man was not created for the free market.
President Trump deserves credit for taking bold action where previous administrations have failed. This isn’t about government control — it’s about ensuring American homes go to American families, not Wall Street portfolios.
Christians should pray for wisdom in implementing these policies and for revival in our nation. We should recognize that owning a home — stewarding property, building wealth for future generations — is part of what God intended when He made us to cultivate and care for His creation.
Remember, Americans need opportunity: opportunity to plant roots in a community to love, to own, to live for, to fight for, and to die for that community. We should not allow multinational corporations to steal this opportunity for the sake of maximizing shareholder profit. It should be families first.
That’s why this issue matters, not just economically but as a case for a free and flourishing nation. May God grant us the wisdom to get this right.
If you like this article and other content that helps you apply a biblical worldview to today’s politics and culture, consider making a donation here.
