The Salt Lake Tribune published an investigation into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' growing role as a major housing developer, documenting how the Church and its subsidiaries have become one of the largest private apartment owners and residential landholders in the western United States. The church pays for properties in all-cash transactions, often through entities that do not carry its name, allowing it to move quickly in competitive real estate markets.

The Tribune's reporting details acquisitions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years, including apartment complexes in California, Arizona, and Utah. The properties generate rental income that flows to church-controlled companies, raising questions about whether the activity constitutes a for-profit real estate business operating under a religious organization's tax exemption.

Critics cited in the story argue the scale and nature of the holdings—luxury apartments, commercial office space, retail centers—have moved far beyond property needed for the Church's religious mission. The Church has declined to publicly report revenues from its real estate portfolio or explain how rental income is reinvested, citing its status as a religious organization not required to file public financial disclosures.