FISHERS — The journey to buy a home can feel like a battle if you compete against deep-pocketed investors. Fishers has a plan to try and level the playing field by limiting how many homes companies can own.
"I was hearing from all of these people who wanted to move to Fishers and wanted to buy a home and kept getting beat out by people who wanted to buy them and turn them into investments," said Fishers mayor Scott Fadness.
Fishers' proposal would limit homeowners and companies to owning 10 percent of homes in any given neighborhood. All landlords would also have to register a local point-of-contact with the city.
The city invited public comment on the plan on Monday. Fadness hopes the city's plan can be the best of all worlds if it is implemented.
"We really want to make sure that Fishers maintains a vested interest in every homeowner that lives here, that their neighborhood will stay a vibrant place," Fadness said. We hear about people who have lived in a neighborhood for 15 years who start to see rentals come in and worry about the long-term investment of their home. We hear from homeowners associations about the ability to enforce the covenants they currently have."
According to city data, 2,522 homes in Fishers are rental properties. The city believes 47% of those homes are owned by out-of-state landlords.
The new rules will go before city council on April 21, where the public will be allowed to give more comments on the plan. If adopted, the rules would take effect on January 1, 2026. Existing portfolios would be grandfathered in if it takes effect.
"Are we going to make everyone happy with this solution? Probably not," Fadness said. "What we're most interested in is if every neighborhood stays vibrant and sustainable for the long-term."
