Are Corporate Investors Wrecking Housing? Plus How to Date Without Wrecking Your Budget

Big investors aren’t wrecking housing the way you think they are, and dating on a budget could be more romantic than you think. What role do corporate investors actually play in making homes unaffordable, and would banning them fix the problem? We examine the data behind one of housing’s most contentious debates with senior news writer Anna Helhoski and mortgage writers Abby Badach Doyle and Kate Wood, who look at why institutional investors have become a political flashpoint, what the proposed investor ban in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act would actually mean for everyday buyers, and what the numbers reveal about who really owns most investor-held single-family homes in America. How do you keep dating from draining your budget when you feel the pressure to spend? Host Sean Pyles, CFP®, and Elizabeth Ayoola dig into a listener’s question about navigating dating with traditional values, including the expectation to pay for everything and where romance fits into a healthy financial plan. They explore how to make meaningful, lower-cost dates work without seeming cheap, what “equal versus equitable” looks like when two people with different incomes are dating, and when the right moment is to bring up money with someone you’re seriously considering building a future with. What Is the Housing for the 21st Century Act? Survey: Most Say Men Should Pay for First Date in Hetero Couples Survey: 17% of Americans Say Credit Card Debt Is a Dating Dealbreaker Want us to review your budget? Fill out this form — completely anonymously if you want — and we might feature your budget in a future segment! To send the Nerds your money questions, call or text the Nerd hotline at 901-730-6373 or email podcast@nerdwallet.com. Like what you hear? Please leave us a review and tell a friend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Are Corporate Investors Wrecking Housing? Plus How to Date Without Wrecking Your Budget is an episode from NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast by NerdWallet Personal Finance.

This episode is 34:50 long.

This episode was published on Mar 26, 2026.

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