Fishers has been receiving lots of attention from local news outlets lately, including the Indianapolis Star and local television newsrooms, about who owns single-family rental homes in Fishers. A housing study released in January contains a ton of data, but one fact uncovered is the extent of large investment firms buying homes in Fishers to become rental properties.
Take a quick look at what the study found:
Fishers City Council President Todd Zimmerman has written social media posts saying he favors action to stem the tide of investment companies buying-up Fishers single-family homes and converting them to rental properties. Mayor Scott Fadness says having large investment firms buying-up single-family homes robs families of wealth accumulation over time by pushing many of them out of the local housing market.
If there is a consensus that something needs to be done, the next question is – what should be done and what can be done under the law? In a brief conversation after a recent Board of Works meeting, Mayor Fadness told me he has been conducting meetings with his staff and the city attorney, exploring options possible under Indiana law.
The mayor indicated to me that it may take a change in state law. Remember, cities are subdivisions of the state, so Indiana state lawmakers have the final say, along with the governor, on what laws are and are not enacted or even allowed by local governments.
Indiana has a national reputation of favoring landlords over tenants. The Indianapolis Star and other local news outlets have reported extensively on this issue. Convincing the General Assembly to enact a law limiting rental properties will be a heavy lift.
Expect some reaction from Mayor Fadness and the Fishers City Council in response to data revealed in the housing study. Let’s see exactly what is proposed to deal with this single-family rental home ownership question.
This is not an all inclusive list. There is a house (15411 Ackerley Drive, Fishers 46040) in our neighborhood (The Boulders) that was purchased by a company called Home Partners of America in the Fall 2020 and is managed by a company called Pathlight Property Management. To date, there have been two different families that have rented this property.
This probably explains the extraordinary amount of calls or text I get from people trying to buy our house. This issue was out of control in our old neighborhood in Fishers when we moved across town 16 yrs ago. I’m willing to bet out of the 219 houses there 75% is rental now.
Fishers isn’t the only place this is happening — WaPo had a fairly in depth article about it last week. (link below –may be behind paywall)
My take on things is that this may have a bit of smoke and heat showing up now. But when it comes to returning the neighborhoods to non-corporate owners, it’ll be much more difficult. Especially when it’s found there may be connections to donors. As always, follow the money…
When an investor owns several properties in an area, they are given a larger voice in community government due to the size of the $$ they pay in taxes and the number of lots they own. The renters will be ignored when approaching the city (see what’s happening in Indy at various apartment complexes for strong correlation). And if things continue as unchecked as they really are — we get another round of the remaining home owners being New Havened (eminent domain) out of their homes at tax-based numbers to allow yet other investors to triple dip into city-based incentives and funding. (see the mess on the south side of Holland for more evidence)
I don’t think there’s a REAL will in this city government to make the tough calls on this topic. It’ll be easier for them to say ” level of law prevents us from taking action” — which is big people speak for “I’m not gonna disrupt my campaign contributions”
Those spammy calls that I get, about selling my property, are going to continue until a large set of people force state or federal level rules/laws to change. Until then, I’ll wait on baited breath for the investor who’s willing to pay mega-merger level premiums for my property…(it aint gonna happen…and I like where I live)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/housing-market-investors/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F36100b2%2F620d35549d2fda34e794eab3%2F5cfa73c5ade4e23c003205ec%2F8%2F70%2F620d35549d2fda34e794eab3
Larry, this coincides with, and exacerbates, the topic of the lack of affordable housing, which I brought to your attention (and my city councilor’s) 2-3 years ago.
Why wouldn’t a large institutional investor buy up all of the homes in price ranges that can never be built again? Its a brilliant investment strategy.
We deserve elected officials who are more aware of what’s happening.