Pursuits
Trump Picks Rattle Housing Industry by Questioning Loan Backstop
- Carson says 30-year mortgage doesn’t need government guarantee
- Realtors warn rates would rise, mortgages could become scarce
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Republicans are raising the prospect of making the biggest change to home loans since the New Deal.
Two of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks, along with Republican lawmakers, have been speaking publicly about curbing government backing for the kind of loan that the majority of Americans rely on to buy a house: the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Supporters of the change say removing U.S. backing could protect taxpayers from being on the hook for billions of dollars in the event of a market collapse -- as they were after the financial crisis of 2008.