Overview
- The executive order directs federal agencies to stop approving, insuring, guaranteeing, securitizing, or otherwise facilitating sales of single-family homes to large institutional investors and to favor owner-occupants through first-look and anti-circumvention measures.
- The Treasury Department is tasked with reviewing rules and setting definitions for which investors are covered, and agencies have 60 days to issue implementing guidance, a process thrust into the spotlight after a Treasury remark about "5, 10, 12 homes" drew criticism.
- The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission are instructed to scrutinize substantial or serial acquisitions by large landlords for anti-competitive effects and to prioritize enforcement against coordinated vacancy and pricing strategies in local single-family rental markets.
- Separately, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have begun a White House-directed plan to purchase up to $200 billion in agency mortgage-backed securities, with initial buys completed and average 30-year mortgage rates easing from recent highs.
- Other ideas under discussion include penalty-free 401(k) withdrawals for down payments and novel mortgage products, which would require congressional action, as experts warn institutional buyers hold a small national share and that supply constraints could limit affordability gains.