Snyder Homes president says institutional buyers have not been buying up Vermont single-family homes

Chris Snyder, president of Snyder Homes, told the General & Housing committee on March 20 that he has not seen institutional or private-equity buyers purchase large numbers of single-family homes in his Vermont market.

Snyder, a second-generation home builder who said his company builds roughly 30 houses and about 120 apartment units a year, told legislators most investor purchasers he encounters are individuals or couples buying a single unit — sometimes as a long-term hold after a 1031 exchange — rather than large funds buying entire neighborhoods.

The testimony came as the committee continued its review of concerns raised in other cities about private-equity firms buying single- and two-family homes and converting owner-occupied neighborhoods to rental portfolios. “I have not seen or heard or talked to anybody who wants to come in and buy more than 1 unit at a time,” Snyder said. He added that in his view, the cost basis in Vermont and typical rents mean the math rarely supports large-scale institutional returns: “They're buying a $600,000 townhouse and renting it for $3,000,” he said, “and so therefore there's not a substantial return on their investment.”

Snyder described his firm’s mix of business: primarily a build-and-sell model, with some separate LLCs that build and hold units for rental, including projects developed in partnership with the University of Vermont Medical Center to provide employee and graduate-student housing. He told lawmakers that where his company or its affiliated LLCs do hold units, the investments are long-term and driven by local housing needs rather than by institutional portfolio strategies.

Lawmakers pressed several practical questions: whether investor-buyers in the region use tax-deferred exchanges or other pooled capital, and whether builders themselves hold inventory. Snyder said some investors do use 1031 exchanges and that his own company sometimes holds projects in separate LLCs, but he reiterated that he has not observed private-equity firms buying multiple single-family houses at scale in the markets where he works.

Committee members said the testimony was useful context as they consider whether to target legislation to institutional buyers. Representative Emily Krasnow, who represents South Burlington, thanked Snyder for his work and said his perspective helped the committee understand there may be local variation in the problem lawmakers are trying to address.

The committee did not take action on a bill at the hearing; members asked Snyder to stay available for future testimony as the committee refines definitions and considers possible unintended consequences of proposed investor restrictions.