Institutional firms are pulling back from the U.S. housing market—just look at Starwood's decision to shop 2,000 single-family rentals

Starwood Capital CEO Barry Sternlicht doesn't hold back on his Federal Reserve criticism: On multiple occasions he's told CNBC anchors that the central bank's aggressive interest rate hikes could soon spur a deep recession.

It's easy to see why Sternlicht is so openly critical of the Fed: Starwood primarily invests in real estate, where the Fed's interest rate hikes have already caused a great deal of economic pain.