Senate OKs Housing Bill Banning Corporate Buys Amid Local Shortages; FBI Probes Attacks

The Senate passed the largest housing bill in decades Thursday in an 89-to-10 vote, advancing bipartisan legislation that would ban large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes and deploy dozens of incentives aimed at closing a nationwide housing shortage.

The bill carries more than 40 provisions designed to spur homebuilding, expand existing affordability programs and strip away regulatory barriers that have suppressed new construction. The nation currently falls millions of units short of meeting housing demand. Co-sponsor Sen. Elizabeth Warren described the sweeping measure as a "giant meatball" of programs and incentives. Research on whether institutional investors actually drive up home prices is mixed, with some studies showing large corporate landlords own relatively few homes nationally and in some cases help reduce costs.

For Treasure Coast families, the legislation could reshape an already strained housing market. Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties have seen home prices rise sharply in recent years, pushing homeownership out of reach for many working residents. A federal ban on bulk corporate purchases of single-family homes — one of the bill's most prominent provisions — could reduce competition that has undercut first-time buyers in communities like Port St. Lucie, one of Florida's fastest-growing cities.

Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), whose FL-21 district covers Martin and St. Lucie counties, had not issued a public statement on the legislation as of Thursday.

The bill now moves to the House, where it is expected to be taken up in coming weeks, though a floor date has not been confirmed.

Separately, the FBI is investigating two attacks that occurred Thursday. In Michigan, a man identified as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon, rammed a car into Temple Israel synagogue before being shot and killed by security officers. Authorities confirmed that an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon killed two of Ghazali's brothers and two of his brother's children earlier this month; his parents were wounded. Investigators have not yet established a motive.

In Virginia, a gunman identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, opened fire in a Reserve Officers' Training Corps classroom at Old Dominion University, killing one person and wounding two others before being subdued and killed by ROTC students. Jalloh had pleaded guilty in 2017 to attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and was released from prison in 2024. The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism.

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