The title of the virtual hearing by a US House Subcommittee on Financial Services subpanel on Wednesday, "Where Have All the Houses Gone? Private Equity, Single Family Rentals, and America's Neighborhoods," pretty much sums up the aim of the event.

That was even more pointed than a previously planned title, as described by a committee memorandum: "Boom and Bust: Inequality, Homeownership, and the Long-Term Impacts of the Hot Housing Market."

"Today's hearing will examine troubling issues regarding the mass predatory purchasing of single-family homes by private equity firms, including the adverse impact predatory purchasing has had on first-time home buyers, the working class, and people of color." opened chair Rep. Al Green (D-TX). "After an extensive investigation into this practice, we have found that private equity companies have bought up hundreds of thousands of single-family homes and placed them on the rental market."