SAN DIEGO — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 and passed a proposal Tuesday aimed at exploring ways to stop corporate investors from buying up large numbers of homes in San Diego, driving up the cost of buying or renting.
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer spearheaded the effort to fight back against "Wall Street" companies, like Blackstone, whom she said are making the housing crisis in San Diego even worse.
"Corporate giants like Blackstone are not just relentlessly profiteering, they are using sophisticated price fixing algorithms to manipulate the rental market," said Supervisor Lawson-Remer during Tuesday's board meeting.
Supervisor Joel Anderson was the only "no" vote. He said the focus should be on expanding more housing, not focusing on mega-corporations.
"I think it's a distraction from the solution," he said. "In my district we need more housing, we don't need to quibble about whether 10 percent of the market is being manipulated."
Blackstone is the country's largest residential landlord. In 2021, it bought 66 buildings throughout the county, roughly 5,600 housing units.
Supervisor Lawson-Remer's plan includes finding out exactly how many properties in the county are owned by corporate landlords, direct staff to explore whether there are opportunities to change some of the rules to prevent large corporations from buying up so many homes and explore potential litigation options.
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