Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte urging him to use his authorities as FHFA Director to bring down housing costs for the American people – instead of aiding the President Donald Trump’s illegal campaign to take over the Fed. The Senators laid out eight specific policy recommendations Director Pulte has failed to pursue that would help promote housing affordability.
“As FHFA Director, you have a legitimate role to play in addressing these issues. Instead of spinning rumors about the Federal Reserve Chair’s retirement or taking credit for credit scoring actions and title insurance pilots created by former FHFA Director Sandra Thompson under the Biden Administration, you could demonstrate an actual commitment to improving the everyday lives of the American people and work to make housing more affordable for them.” the Senators wrote.
The Senators detailed the extent of the housing affordability crisis:
“House prices have increased by 3% since last year, with existing home prices hitting an all-time high in June. Median asking rents are 41% higher than they were in 2020 under the first Trump Administration. Meanwhile, the cost of building materials are up and housing-related insurance premiums are expected to rise thanks to President Trump’s chaotic tariff policies. This, in turn, has pushed housing starts down and plummeted housing developer confidence to a near-historic low in June. It’s no wonder that more households than ever are paying well over 30% of their incomes on rent, homelessness continues to rise, and the median ages of both first-time and repeat homebuyers are at historic highs.”
The Senators offered eight tangible suggestions to the Director to tackle rising housing costs:
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Carefully study the impacts of potential Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reprivatization on consumers and the housing market
- Increase support for lending related to the affordable housing goals and FHFA’s duty to serve low- and moderate-income households
- Support affordable multifamily construction and rehabilitation lending
- Support lending for models that preserve long-term affordability
- Support fair housing and fair lending initiatives
- Recommence implementation of tenant protections
- Transition to the bi-merge credit reporting system
- Increase the Federal Home Loan Banks’ (FHLBs) Affordable Housing Program (AHP) Investments
“Housing and the American dream of homeownership are the backbone of this country. Now is the time to deliver emergency price relief, as the President has called on you to do. We thank you for your attention to this critical issue,”the Senators concluded.
Read the text of the letter here.