HousingWire Pulse Survey: Respondents says Trump’s policies better for housing

When it comes to housing, real estate and mortgage industry professionals in the HousingWire Pulse Q4 2024 survey chose President Donald Trump’s housing policies over Vice President Kamala Harris’s.

Broken down by real estate brokers, real estate agents and mortgage professionals, some 51% of brokers chose Trump, with 45% of agents and 41% of lenders doing the same.

Harris received support from 26% of brokers, 30% of agents and 31% of lenders. However, almost as many — 23% of real estate brokers, 27% of real estate agents and 20% of mortgage professionals — didn’t think either candidate’s policies would be effective.

The Harris campaign is focused on downpayment help for first-time homebuyers and a child tax credit. According to an article by HousingWire Reporter Chris Clow, Harris said, “My proposal includes what would be a tax credit of $25,000 for first-time homebuyers so they can just have enough to put a down payment on a home, which is part of the American dream and their aspiration, but do it in a way that allows them to actually get on the path to achieving that goal and that dream.”

The Trump campaign does not have a specific housing policy strategy listed on the website, but the former president made it clear that his economic policies will have a direct effect on housing prices and new homes.

In an article from HousingWire’s Managing Editor James Kleiman, Mark Calabria, former head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, noted that Trump would likely look at streamlining regulatory authority and doing some reforms around housing permits and land use to bring down the cost of housing. Calabria also mentioned that he believes that Trump will focus on individual taxes, like the mortgage interest deduction and SALT (state and local taxes).

HousingWire Pulse is a quarterly, forward-looking, housing market sentiment survey. The Q2024 survey had 602 respondents, 56% in the real estate industry and 44% in the mortgage industry.