Bill limiting investors from buying homes set to speed through Congress

An affordable housing bill limiting how many single-family homes major investors can buy is poised to be signed into law before the end of the month after key lawmakers in the House and Senate reached an agreement Tuesday.

The bill, which is focused on increasing the supply of homes, would not include a controversial provision requiring major investors to sell any housing units they build within seven years, but would cap the number of single-family homes they could buy at 350.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Tuesday that the bill could clear the Senate as soon as this week, with an initial vote to begin to advance the measure on Thursday evening.

Thune said he hoped the House could take up the bill when it returns next week. Previous versions of the bill have cleared the House with strong levels of support, meaning the House could use an expedited process to get the legislation done.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who has helped helm the bill as the top Democrat on the Senate committee overseeing housing, said the bill is important not only because of the focus on affordability, but what it means for how Congress handles private equity.

“Never before has Congress put any restriction on the ability of private equity to move into whatever industry they want, buy up whatever they want and destroy whatever they want,” she told CNBC in a short Capitol hallway interview. “This bill is historic because it puts a big fat ‘no’ right in front of private equity’s growth as it tries to mow through our neighborhoods.”