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Real estate and mortgage industry trade groups welcomed the Trump administration’s promise to address soaring home prices through an executive order directing federal agencies to provide “emergency price relief.”
But the order, titled “Providing Emergency Price Relief to American Families and Ending the Cost of Living Crisis,” lacked specifics.
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“Many Americans are unable to purchase a home due to historically high prices, in part because regulatory requirements alone account for 25% of new home construction costs,” President Trump said. Heads of executive departments and government agencies. Consistent with applicable law, provide emergency price relief to Americans and promote prosperity for American workers. This includes pursuing appropriate measures to reduce housing costs and expand housing supply. ”
The Mortgage Bankers Association on Tuesday renewed its call for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to lower FHA mortgage insurance premiums and eliminate the “loan life” requirement that requires borrowers to continue making payments until their loans are paid off. .
MBA President and CEO Bob Bruksmit said in a statement: “President Trump has advocated for lower costs for Americans, and we are pleased to see housing supply and affordability included in his executive order on this issue. We will evaluate the “We support efforts that seek to strengthen federal housing programs that reduce unnecessary regulatory red tape and make rental and homeownership more attainable and sustainable.”
This includes MBA members’ “To reduce housing costs for low- to moderate-income Americans, the Federal Housing Administration will eliminate lifetime loan insurance premium requirements and reasonably reduce FHA mortgage insurance premium levels.” “We strongly believe that we should strongly consider this,” Burksmit said.
In written questions to Scott Turner, President Trump’s nominee for next housing secretary, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) suggested that she instead raise FHA insurance premiums and reduce FHA loans for first-time homebuyers. We asked them whether they supported restricting the use of . , proposed in Project 2025, a policy document co-authored by former Trump Housing Secretary Ben Carson.
In the preamble to a 13-page question she submitted to Turner last week, Warren said the United States is “in a national housing shortage” and that about 5 million new homes are needed to fill the gap. I admitted that there was.
“There are many explanations for this crisis, including unnecessary local barriers and land-use restrictions, decades of government disinvestment, and soaring construction financing costs,” Warren wrote.
But Warren said many people are concerned that HUD’s ability to address housing affordability will be diminished under the Trump administration, citing Project 2025 and actions taken during the first Trump administration. The field was outlined.
“President-elect Trump has suggested that illegal immigrants are to blame for America’s housing crisis and called for mass deportation,” Warren wrote. “However, roughly 30 percent of America’s construction workers are immigrants, and economists find that mass deportations would reduce the supply of skilled construction workers by 1.5 million jobs and further increase home prices. .”
Although immigration policy is outside of HUD’s jurisdiction, Warren asked Turner whether she believes immigrants are the main cause of housing unaffordability and whether she supports mass deportations as a solution to the housing crisis. I asked if it was okay.
President Trump issued a slew of executive orders on Monday, declaring a national emergency at the Mexican border, sending in the military and building detention camps to deport millions of immigrants. He promised to protect the country from invasion.
The National Association of Realtors issued a statement Tuesday praising President Trump for “calling attention to the dire need to address urgent and ongoing challenges to housing affordability and supply.” Our team brought these issues to the President’s team, emphasizing that undersupply is the number one driver of home prices, which in turn is negatively impacting the housing market and crowding out first-time buyers. ”
The NAR encouraged the Trump administration to “focus on property rights, inventory, affordability, and housing accessibility, which would stimulate the economy and encourage more Americans to move forward across generations.” “They will be able to build wealth by doing so.”
“The president’s executive order underscores the critical need for bold, concerted action to reduce housing costs and increase housing availability for families across this country,” the group said. said. “NAR has long advocated for policies that encourage housing development, improve affordability, and support sustainable homeownership opportunities. I look forward to implementing the order.”
The National Association of Home Builders has expressed concern about the potential impact of President Trump’s proposed tariffs on housing costs, saying Tuesday that Trump has “issued executive orders aimed at reducing costs and making housing a national priority.” “He took action from day one to achieve this goal.” and increase the supply of housing. ”
But the group pointed to a 10-point plan announced in May to ease the housing affordability crisis and called on policymakers to eliminate tariffs on Canadian lumber shipments and building materials from China.
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