The NAHB and 15 state attorneys general filed a complaint earlier this month in a bid to stop the adoption of new energy efficiency standards for multifamily and some single-family housing programs by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Department of Agriculture – and those regulations could be on the way out as a result of Trump’s executive order, according to mortgage lawyer Peter Idziak (pictured top) of Polunsky Beitel Green.
“My read is that although it’s not specifically directed in the executive order, that’s going to be a major item on the chopping block – rolling back, revising, or even eliminating some of those energy efficiency standards,” he told Mortgage Professional America.
“We’ve seen executive orders in other spaces, like with light bulbs and appliances, that the Trump administration is looking to roll back those energy efficiency standards. So that’s my educated guess.”
Trump’s second presidency could bring major changes to housing & mortgages, including the end of conservatorship for Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. UWM’s Mat Ishbia sees positive changes ahead, focusing on innovation and consumer access.https://t.co/VEAIIuAQdO
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) January 21, 2025
While Trump has named Bill Pulte as his nominee for Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director and tapped Scott Turner to lead HUD, the new administration has released few specifics about its plans on the housing and mortgage fronts, with the latest executive order a “broad-based” release, Idziak said.
“It’s unclear exactly what these ‘appropriate actions’ to lower the cost of housing will be,” he said. “But I think what gives the housing and mortgage industries hope is that… there was a focus on home affordability, which is good, and it is going to be a focus of the Trump administration going forward [although] it’s an open question of what specific actions are going to be taken.”
