


The Trump administration is still weighing a national housing emergency declaration, yet Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte is “confident” that President Donald Trump‘s policies will bring the market “back.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Washington Examiner earlier in September that Trump is considering declaring a national housing emergency this fall, marking the first housing emergency declaration in nearly 100 years.
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Pulte, speaking to the Washington Examiner at the White House on Friday, said that, ultimately, that decision will be “entirely up to the president.”
“I would say he cares a lot about housing. He knows more about housing than any president’s ever happened,” he stated. “But we have a big problem, which is, the last four years, inflation went through the roof, mortgage rates skyrocketed, and now we have a problem that we have to get this housing market back on track.”
The Trump administration has already taken some steps to lower costs for renters and buyers. The president has signed multiple executive orders slashing regulations and prioritizing cost-cutting measures for consumers, although experts say it is unlikely that this will have a direct impact on the housing market. FHFA directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in June to begin developing proposals that will allow borrowers to list cryptocurrencies and past-rent as assets during the mortgage underwriting process. Pulte pointed to both measures on Friday.
“There’s a lot of different things that we’re doing, and I’m confident that we’ll get the housing market back,” he concluded.
The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to cut interest rates earlier this month should, in theory, grant some relief to buyers in the immediate future.
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Still, Bessent told the Washington Examiner that the administration is actively studying a number of areas the government can intervene, should the president go through with his housing disaster declaration.
That focus list includes standardizing local building and zoning codes and decreasing closing costs. Bessent even suggested that Trump may consider some tariff exemptions for certain construction materials.