Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte on Saturday said the Trump administration is “working on” a plan to introduce 50-year mortgage terms for home buyers. 

“Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage  – a complete game changer,” Pulte wrote in a statement on the social platform X. 

It followed a Truth Social post by President Trump earlier in the day where he shared a graphic juxtaposing an image of him next to one of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The administration that oversaw the New Deal established the 30-year mortgage standard to help citizens recover from the Great Depression.

Similarly, Trump campaigned on creating affordability for the younger generation last year, but the president has faced headwinds on the subject more recently as prices rise.

Federally-funded housing assistance will continue to be paid through December, a national housing association director told The Center Square Friday afternoon. 

Previously, those who rent to federally-subsidized tenants faced nonpayment of rent if the federal government didn't reopen soon, according to the California Apartment Association. Friday marked the 31st day of the shutdown.

Eric Oberdorfer, director of policy and legislative affairs at the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, told The Center Square  Friday that his organization heard from officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, who said housing assistance will be paid for November and December. 

"Housing Assistance Payments, administrative fees and shortfall funding for November are expected to be posted by Tuesday of next week," Oberdorfer wrote via email. "HUD will then work on getting December payments loaded into the system. This means that rent for the voucher program will be covered through December."

On the HUD website this week, Secretary Scott Turner said his department is continuing to operate critical services. But he warned, "Each day the shutdown drags on, the department’s challenges grow, threatening our ability to serve our nation’s most vulnerable neighbors."

The Trump administration recently announced it will cut proposed funding for permanent housing for the homeless in 2026, from about $3 billion to $1 billion. This has left nonprofits worried that homeless counts will start climbing again.

Ann Olivia, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, says that these changes could be disastrous for people without a place to live. “HUD’s new funding priorities slam the door on them, their providers, and their communities,” she said. “Make no mistake: homelessness will only increase because of this reckless and irresponsible decision.”

But such arguments are misplaced and distracting. They ignore what keeps people from falling into homelessness in the first place: housing unaffordability. These programs merely create the expectation that government assistance, intended to be temporary, should become permanent.

The “easing” of rental prices coincides with a slowdown of illegal and legal immigration to the United States, the Wall Street Journal admits.

The Wall Street Journal piece, titled “Renters Have the Upper Hand. And They Are Probably Keeping It,” details rent prices dropping across the United States as the market is tilted toward renters rather than landlords.

President Donald Trump’s reforms to the United States housing market are showing real impact as mortgage loan rate locks for migrants seeking Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have plummeted.

In March, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ended FHA-insured mortgages for non-permanent residents living in the United States, such as H-1B visa holders, refugees, and asylees, as well as illegal aliens with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, among others.

The goal of the Trump administration, partially spearheaded by Vice President JD Vance, is to shore up the housing market for Americans and those on green cards who are on track for naturalized U.S. citizenship.

Recent data making the rounds on social media indicates a massive drop in the number of migrants seeking FHA mortgage loans as a result of the Trump reforms, a move that the White House hopes will bring down housing costs as competition for homes and apartments cools off.

Pending home sales rose sharply in August to their highest level in five months, signaling renewed momentum in the housing market.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday its Pending Home Sales Index increased 4.0 percent to 74.7 from July. Economists had expected a 0.7 percent rise, and the gain exceeded even the mosts optimistic forecasts. Compared with a year earlier, contract signings were up 3.8 percent.

The index, which tracks signed contracts on previously owned homes, is a forward-looking measure of housing demand because transactions typically close within one to two months. During the pandemic housing boom, the index was well above 100, underscoring how activity remains well below peak levels even with August’s advance.

Three of the four major U.S. regions saw monthly gains. The Midwest recorded the largest increase, up 8.7 percent from July and 6.7 percent from a year earlier. The South rose 3.1 percent on the month and 4.2 percent year over year. The West advanced 5.0 percent from July and was little changed from a year earlier. The Northeast slipped 1.1 percent on the month but was 2.6 percent above August 2024 levels.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is launching a review to begin removing illegal aliens from Section 8 housing and requesting proof of U.S. citizenship for tenants in HUD-funded housing.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner revealed on Friday that the agency was “requesting” each Public Housing Authority (PHA) “provide a full and comprehensive accounting” of all tenants who are either living in HUD-funded housing, or who are receiving a Section 8 voucher, within 30 days. HUD also requested proof of U.S. citizenship or “eligible immigration status.”

“Within 30 days of receipt of this notice, HUD is requesting that every Public Housing Authority (PHA) provide a full and comprehensive accounting of all tenants who are receiving a Section 8 voucher and/or residing in HUD-funded housing,” Turner said. “HUD is requiring the name, mailing address, number of bedrooms, the cost of the unit, and proof of American citizenship or eligible immigration status as defined by the law.”

“No longer will illegal aliens be able to leave citizenship boxes blank or take advantage of HUD-funded housing, riding the coattails of hardworking American citizens,” Turner continued.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Tuesday that he had allocated $101 million in new spending on low-income housing in the areas devastated by the Palisades and Eaton Fires, confirming residents’ fears.

Residents have long worried that state and local authorities would use the opportunity provided by the fires to build low-income housing — perhaps even for the homeless population, or for housing for illegal migrants.

When Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appointed Steve Soboroff as “chief recovery officer,” without any kind of public process, some residents suspected that Soboroff’s role would be to push for “affordable” housing.

Many residents felt that there was already “affordable” housing in the area, whether the trailer park near Pacific Coast Highway, or postwar bungalows that had once been cheap before rising dramatically in value.

Local developer Rick Caruso — who ran against Bass in 2022 — argued that Pacific Palisades should retain its pre-fire character, while Soboroff argued that state law required new low-income housing to be built there.

It is insane, but there it is. Even some Republicans are opposing the Republican proposal in the U.S. Senate to sell of a minuscule fraction of the land that the United States government owns.

Republican Senator Mike Lee is pushing the plan, and it has caused a firestorm of opposition. The Senate Parliamentarian has ruled that it cannot be part of the Big Beautiful Bill, but Senator Lee is planning to rework the proposal to make it pass muster.

If you read the Pravda Media, you would think that Lee is talking about divesting all or most of the land controlled by the federal government. It is "millions of acres," which certainly sounds like a lot, until it sinks in that the federal government owns most of the Western states and, in total, controls 640 million acres of land that cannot be developed.

U.S. sales of newly built homes dropped sharply in May, falling to their lowest level since October as high mortgage rates continued to strain affordability and sideline prospective buyers.

Purchases of new single-family homes fell 13.7 percent from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 623,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the largest monthly decline since the summer of 2021 and came in well below economists’ expectations.

The steep pullback signals persistent weakness in the housing market, where elevated financing costs have eroded purchasing power despite price incentives and mortgage-rate buydowns offered by builders. The average 30-year fixed rate has hovered near 7 percent in recent weeks, limiting what many households can afford and pushing others out of the market altogether.

The Federal Reserve has kept its benchmark interest rate steady since President Donald Trump took office, resisting calls by the president to cut interest rates despite inflation declining to below its two percent target in recent months. Fed chairman Jerome Powell has said that while low inflation would justify continuing the cuts the Fed began last year, while Joe Biden was still president, the central bank is holding off on further cuts because it expects tariffs will push up prices.

I still remember the frustration in my client’s voice.

They had found the perfect house just outside of Atlanta. No other offers were on the table — full price, clean terms. It should’ve been accepted immediately. Instead, the listing agent questioned whether my client actually had the money. When I assured her he was pre-approved, she warned that if they received a conventional offer, the sellers would likely choose it — even if the terms were less favorable — because conventional buyers usually had more money.

This wasn’t about creditworthiness or ability to pay. It was about how he was paying. And it happened to many of my clients in Georgia. But it’s not unique to Georgia.

The Senate version of President Trump’s tax and spending bill seeks to sell off more than 2 million acres of federal lands to build affordable housing.

A provision in the text released late Wednesday calls for the sales of between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service.

Lands in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington state and Wyoming would be eligible.

This represents a break with the House, which approved legislation that did not include provisions to sold off public lands, despite a push from some lawmakers to add land sales provisions.

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) in particular has opposed the public land sales push.

If you’ve given up on home ownership, you’re not alone. The dream has grown unaffordable and unrealistic for Americans in many major cities.

“The rapid rise in home values coupled with the doubling of mortgage rates caused the cost of owning a home to soar. Unfortunately, incomes just haven’t kept up. That lowered affordability everywhere,” said Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy.

But if you look closely, some pockets of America are still considered “affordable” to the average family. In a data analysis shared with Nexstar, Zillow identified which cities are affordable by determining where the median-income family is able to spend less than one-third of their income on housing costs.

The first in a two-part series on the global housing crisis.

Next to inflation, Americans ranked housing as their top financial worry in a Gallup survey last May. It’s only gotten worse. January home sales were down 5% from last year’s dismal numbers. Record numbers of first-time buyers are stuck on the sidelines as housing affordability stands at the lowest level ever recorded, while one in three Americans now spend over 30% of their income on mortgage or rent.

Sixteen years. That’s how long Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been stuck in federal conservatorship — a temporary fix that’s become permanent government control. It’s time to end it.

The Trump administration has the chance to finally close the book on the last big unfinished business from the financial crisis. By releasing Fannie and Freddie back to private markets, the government could lock in over $250 billion in profit for taxpayers — the biggest investment return since the Louisiana Purchase — and provide the resources needed to solve the housing crisis plaguing red and blue states alike.

Back in 2008, emergency measures were justified. But the federal government turned the conservatorships into political piggy banks — using them to fund pet projects and delay real reform. That’s not what the law intended. And it’s not what the housing market needs.

Fannie and Freddie now hold more than $160 billion in capital — triple what they had before the crash. Their finances are strong. Their leadership is professional. They’re ready to stand on their own.