JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is pushing back on one of President Donald Trump‘s signature housing proposals, and the numbers back him up.
Speaking to CBS News in a Tuesday interview, Dimon dismissed the administration’s proposed ban on institutional investors buying single-family homes as largely meaningless.
“I hate to tell you this, it’s basically irrelevant,” Dimon said. “Only 1% of the homes are owned by what you would call large companies. I don’t think it’s gonna change any calculus.”
Trump has called for a ban on institutional investors buying single-family homes, targeting those who own more than 100 properties. But experts at LPL Financial put institutional ownership at just 0.5–3% of U.S. single-family homes, concentrated in markets like Atlanta, Phoenix, and Charlotte. Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has previously highlighted the same figures.
The Real Fix, Per Dimon
Dimon argues the true barrier to affordable housing is zoning laws and costly mortgage rules, not institutional buyers.
“The reason we’re not building more affordable housing is because of local zoning requirements and mortgage origination rules that made it so expensive to get a mortgage. We could reduce the cost of that mortgage,” he said.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted as much. “We’re as dumb as we want to be on housing, and we haven’t been able to get out of our way,” he said. The cost to build multifamily housing in California is already twice that of other states.In response to these high costs and regulatory hurdles, some private builders are taking innovative steps to expand affordable housing.
Some builders are already moving. Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) and Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE:TMHC) are reportedly planning one million “Trump Homes” entry-level properties where monthly rents convert to a down payment after three years, targeting $250 billion worth of housing.
Rates Make It Worse
The broader mortgage market is adding pressure. The average 30-year fixed rate hit 6.38% this week, a six-month high up from 6.22% the prior week, according to Freddie Mac (OTC:FMCC). Rates had briefly dipped to 5.98% after President Trump ordered Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (OTC:FNMA) to expand mortgage-backed securities purchases, but have since reversed course, rising for four consecutive weeks.
Disclaimer: This content was produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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