It's harder to buy a house. This city fought back by outbidding corporate landlords

This is one of 194 homes The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority bought this year. The purchase is a first for the agency, which wanted to prevent investors from buying the homes and possibly increasing rent or evicting tenants. (Jeff Dean for NPR)

CINCINNATI — Demetrius Harper-Edwards and his girlfriend, Sarai Yisrael, spent the pandemic lockdown dreaming of owning a home. They saved for a down payment, and worked to repair their credit.

"I was literally on that couch just going crazy with the paperwork," says Yisrael, who was pregnant with their now 2-year-old son. Harper-Edwards also has twin 8-year-old daughters.