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WASHINGTON: The Trump administration plans to allow investors to use some of their retirement funds to make a down payment on a \u200bhouse, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday, adding that \u200cmore details will be released next week.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to allow people to take money out of their 401(k)s and use that for down payment,\u201d he told Fox Business Network in an interview, adding that U.S. President Donald Trump \u201cwill put the final plan out in Davos next \u200cweek.\u201d<\/p>\n Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here.<\/p>\n Hassett, who said he would be traveling with the Republican president \u200bto the economic conference in Switzerland, added that they were still looking for \u201ca simple\u201d way to allow the fund move so that it would not hurt people\u2019s retirement \u200dplans.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still talking about the mechanics of it,\u201d Hassett told FBN\u2019s \u201cMornings with Maria\u201d program. U.S. housing \u200daffordability in particular has remained a top issue as high mortgage rates and elevated home prices have \u200csidelined \u200cmany would-be buyers and slowed market activity.<\/p>\n Trump in recent weeks has offered a number of proposals, including banning institutional investors from buying single-family homes and instructing the Federal Housing Finance Agency to purchase $200 billion of bonds issued by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae \u2060and Freddie Mac in \u2060a bid to \u200bbring down mortgage rates.<\/p>\n He has also repeatedly called on the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower its benchmark rates. Investors have been eyeing policy moves, market shifts or lower interest rates that could draw buyers back and lift mortgage application volumes after a prolonged housing slowdown.<\/p>\n But some analysts and economists say a key \u200bissue is a lack of supply, and that \u200dlocal zoning and regulation could have a bigger impact. Lower rates, for example, could increase demand for homes \u200bthat without more supply would likely push prices higher.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The expected plan comes as Trump grapples with economic headwinds a year after taking office and ahead of November\u2019s midterm \u2060election, having campaigned on a quick fix to higher prices for American consumers.<\/p>\n
Consumer inflation data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this week showed housing inflation remained \u200dstrong.<\/p>\n