Amid the escalating housing crisis in California, the Los Angeles City Council will consider a motion Nov. 12 preventing online real estate corporations and private equity firms from purchasing affordable single-family housing as investments. The motion was introduced by Council President Nury Martinez and seconded by Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who said the housing crisis has been worsened by online real estate companies like Zillow, Opendoor, and Rockethomes, who buy up affordable housing and sell them for a profit. “These companies primarily target affordable, single-family homes and compete to buy up as much inventory as possible, flip them and then sell them for a profit,” Raman said. Martinez said in the motion that as of August 21, the price of homes in LA increased by 11.3 percent compared to the previous year. Zillow predicts Los Angeles housing costs will rise another 11.6 percent in the next twelve months. “Low-income Angelenos, who …