There has never been a week in the history of the United States like the one we have just experienced under the new Trump administration. Amidst the 200 Executive Orders, all the cabinet confirmation hearings, plus the continuing onslaught of Trump breaking news, there are four big items that can impact the real estate industry

• Trump wants to lower mortgage interest rates
  The president doesn’t have direct control of mortgage rates, but Trump is already leaning on the Fed to lower rates. For people who have lost their homes in the two hurricanes and the wildfires, this will be critical for helping them to shave building costs. It can also help to improve affordability across the board.

• Fanny and Freddie will not be privatized, at least for now
  Trump doesn’t want to disrupt the mortgage market, and privatizing Fanny and Freddie would be a tremendous disruptor. Even though there have been articles about this, it hasn’t been mentioned anywhere as a priority in the Trump agenda.

• Will tariffs replace the U.S. income tax?
  If this happens, it may be the most important achievement of the Trump administration. According to Google,

  “The federal tax code is incredibly complex—so complex that it covers 6,871 pages. If you add in the U.S. tax regulations, which are the U.S. Treasury’s official interpretation of the tax code, to that, you’d be up to 75,000 pages.”

Not having to pay income tax sounds like a pipedream but would certainly be a major change a lot of people would embrace.

Who knows what will happen in week 2, but it’s guaranteed to be fast and furious.