Investigations of excessive housing purchases

The Secretary shall monitor purchases of single-family housing in each housing market area in the United States, as determined by the Secretary, to determine whether any single purchaser of such housing, including any purchaser that is an institutional investor, is purchasing an excessive amount of such housing made available for sale in any such market area. If the Secretary determines that any single purchaser has purchased more than 5 percent of the single-family housing made available for sale in any market area over a 3-year period, or if, in aggregate, large institutional investors have purchased more than 25 percent of the single-family housing made available for sale in any market area over a 1-year period, the Secretary shall conduct an investigation to determine the purposes of and circumstances involved in such purchases, including price gouging, market manipulation, and unfair investment practices that drive homeowners out of the market.