Newburgh, NY

Housing | 2025

Analyzed trends in corporate property ownership and short-term rentals to preserve affordability and increase homeownership  

Corporations and private equity firms have taken an increasingly active role in the nation’s real estate market, leading to rising housing costs and increasing competition that excludes first-time homebuyers. In the Hudson Valley, evidence shows that the corporate consolidation of homeownership is a significant cause of gentrification and displacement. Though New York State recently passed a bill designed to mitigate the effects of corporate ownership, no data have yet been published to illustrate the regional scope of the problem or the potential impact of this new legislation. To address this knowledge gap, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress assessed the relationship between corporate ownership of homes and housing challenges to increase public awareness, inform policy discussions, and empower communities to respond appropriately.  

Together with partners from the Center for Geospatial Solutions at Lincoln Institute for Land Policy and Inside Airbnb, Pattern for Progress analyzed residential parcel, property sale, and short-term rental data to understand the extent, rate of increase, and spatial patterns of corporate ownership of one-to-four-unit residential properties across Ulster, Orange, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, and Sullivan Counties. Many corporate owners use limited liability companies (LLCs) to purchase properties, obscuring beneficial owners and connections between seemingly isolated LLCs. This lack of transparency also makes it difficult to distinguish the market behavior of actors and complicates policy responses.  

The project team found that rates of corporate ownership in the Hudson Valley region exceeded both statewide and nationwide thresholds. Corporate ownership of one-to-four-unit family homes is growing throughout the Mid-Hudson region and is made up mostly of in-state entities with small- and mid-sized portfolios. In high-tourism, primarily rural areas like Ulster, Columbia, Greene, and Sullivan counties, corporate ownership correlates with the short-term rental market. In more suburban and urban areas in Orange and Dutchess counties, corporate entities are more active in the long-term rental market. To contextualize these findings, Pattern for Progress hosted listening sessions to unearth the experiences of residents living in areas with a high concentration of commercialized housing.  The project team will publish a report and an interactive map on its website and will share findings at public meetings to engage audiences throughout the region.  

This project created the first dataset of its kind to analyze the influence of corporate homeownership in the Hudson Valley, one of the most stressed housing markets in the United States. Pattern for Progress and its partners anticipate that the newly available data and analysis will support decisionmaking by a wide range of actors. Working with news outlets, advocacy organizations, elected officials, community land trusts, and others, the project team will use the study findings to advocate for policies that preserve affordable housing and increase homeownership opportunities.