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President Trump signed two Executive Orders on Friday designed to ease pressures on the housing market and ensure Americans can afford to buy a home.
“Every American seeking to buy a home should have access to a mortgage from a reliable lender, at a rate commensurate with his or her creditworthiness,” Trump wrote in an order titled “Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit.”
“Layers of unnecessary regulatory barriers, slow permitting processes, and onerous mandates at all levels of government have delayed construction, restricted development, and driven up the costs of new housing.”
The Order aims to reduce the impact of compliance costs that have led to a reduction in mortgage lending over the past 20 years.
Rural and low-to-moderate-income households are most affected, the Order states.
The Order also aims to encourage lenders to adjust their data-collection and assessment methods.
President Trump’s second Order is directed at red tape and regulations that prevent houses from being built.
“The American dream of homeownership depends on a dynamic housing market in which a varied inventory of new homes is built and renovated each year,” Trump said, noting that “layers of unnecessary” red tape are limiting supply and increasing costs.
“It is the policy of my Administration to reduce regulatory barriers to building homes and to steward taxpayer dollars in a manner that promotes housing affordability.”
Changes ordered target construction regulations, permitting and property taxes.
Nationwide trends indicate a clear shortage of affordable housing, with rent and home prices increasing significantly.
The average price of a home in the US is now $430,000, an increase of 1% on last year.
Trump has made improving access to housing a central part of his second-term agenda.
In January, he issued another Executive Order called, “Stopping Wall Street From Competing with Main Street Home Buyers.” As the name suggests, the Order aims to prevent corporations and asset funds from reducing housing stock.
President Trump also ordered the purchase of $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities.
