Pulte doubles down on homebuyer push, rejects pressure from lobbyists

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte is doubling down on his efforts to help Americans buy homes – and says he won’t yield to intimidation from lobbyists or powerful corporations.

Pulte, who oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced Tuesday that rent history can now be considered when evaluating mortgage eligibility.

“It’s absurd that someone can have a history of $2,200 a month for rent but they want to buy a home for $1,750 a month and can’t,” he posted. “Today, we allowed for RENT payments to COUNT toward qualifying for a MORTGAGE.”

Two days later, Pulte posted a screenshot of an email from a Green Street News reporter alleging he had failed to notify the Treasury Department, HUD, and other agencies ahead of his announcement – and that he’s on “thin ice” with senior Trump administration officials.

Pulte’s response?

“We will not be intimidated by lobbyists – who may or may not be registered – and well-moneyed corporations,” he wrote. “They’ve made it clear, monopolies and their allies in the mainstream media will do whatever they can to stop us from fighting for the interests of the American consumer.”

He added: “We look forward to implementing all aspects of the Credit Score Competition Act, which was signed years ago but never implemented.”

He also posted that, effective Thursday, “in order to further reduce closing costs for homeowners, and foster more competition, we will be adding a second vendor – Westcor – to Fannie Mae’s title acceptance pilot on certain refinances,” another effort to make homeownership more affordable.

The Credit Score Competition Act, signed by President Donald Trump in May 2018, called for measures such as including rental payments in mortgage applications to increase competition and expand mortgage access.

Pulte and Trump’s current push to implement the law comes amid a housing affordability crisis. Under the Biden administration, home prices soared, making it harder for average Americans to enter the market amid record inflation and high interest rates, something Trump is actively trying to bring down.

The trends especially hurt young, first-time homebuyers. Bo Loudon, an 18-year-old Trump fan, called the new policy “A major win for GEN-Z and all Americans!”

The Associated Press reported this week that investors purchased nearly 27% of homes in the first quarter of 2025 – up from the 18.5% average from 2020 to 2023.

“As traditional buyers struggle with affordability, investors with cash and financing advantages are stepping in to maintain transaction volume,” a report from BatchData noted.

Other objectives in the 2018 law include:

• Allowing utility and telecom payment history to count toward credit evaluation to help “credit invisible” individuals;

• Promoting more predictive and inclusive credit scoring models to help borrowers without extensive credit histories;

• Drive advancements in credit scoring algorithms to better reflect consumer financial behavior.

The legislation received bipartisan support, led by Sens. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, and Mark Warner, D-Virginia.

“This is incredible and will make a huge difference in paving a pathway to homeownership for my generation,” said CJ Pearson, co-chair of the GOP’s Youth Advisory Council.