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Trump administration officials are exploring opening an antitrust investigation into US homebuilders as the White House sharpens its focus on tackling the country’s housing affordability crisis.
The Department of Justice could open the probe in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the discussions. No decision has been made and the administration may abandon the effort without launching an investigation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information.
One potential focus is on how information is shared through an industry trade group called Leading Builders of America, according to the people. Officials have grown concerned that the trade group — whose members include Lennar Corp. and DR Horton Inc. — could be used to restrict housing supply or coordinate pricing, the people said.
A White House representative referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment. Representatives for the homebuilders and the trade group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The administration’s interest in homebuilders comes during a period where the cost of buying a home is at its most expensive in decades, with the Covid-era housing boom and subsequent interest rate hikes weighing heavily on buyers. It’s also a precarious time for the builders themselves, with the inventory of unsold homes hovering at high levels.
President Donald Trump put the industry on alert in October, when he used a social media post to compare big homebuilders to The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which wields immense control over the oil market.
Today's show features:
- Bloomberg News Real Estate Reporter Patrick Clark discussing on Trump administration officials mulling an antitrust probe into US homebuilders to tackle the country's housing affordability crisis
- Gregory Daco, Chief Economist at EY, on expectations for the upcoming January jobs report and the broader US economic outlook
- Mark Mahaney, Senior Managing Director and Head of Internet Research at Evercore ISI, on mega-cap tech firms’ AI spending splurge and recapping earnings from Alphabet, and Amazon
- Bloomberg News Executive Editor for Crypto, Payments and Digital Finance stacy-marie ishmael on this week’s large swings in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices
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