Builders pitch 'Trump home' policies, stoking gains for their stocks

By Claudia Assis

The home-building industry is also floating 'rent to own' proposals

Home builders including Lennar are reportedly pitching affordable-home policies to the White House.

Shares of Lennar, Taylor Morrison Home and other builders rose on Wednesday on reports that the home-building industry is pitching affordable-home policies to the Trump administration.

Lennar (LEN) and D.R. Horton (DHI), which are part of the S&P 500 index, were gaining nearly 3% Wednesday. Shares of Taylor Morrison (TMHC) were up more than 3%.

D.R. Horton is the largest U.S. home builder by volume. Shares of Toll Brothers (TOL), which focuses on higher-end homes, were rising a more modest 1%.

According to reports, Lennar and Taylor Morrison are among those championing what they are calling "Trump homes," or more affordable new homes, that will rely on a slew of policy-change proposals that include easing permitting processes and utilizing federal grants. The home-building industry is also floating "rent to own" proposals.

In rent-to-own agreements, a portion of rent typically goes toward an eventual down payment for the property. That alternative may be attractive to cash-strapped would-be home buyers or those with lower credit scores.

A 2016 consumer alert from the Federal Trade Commission, which appears to be the latest on the topic, warned people against this option, saying that the deals can be risky or "even flat-out scams."

Builders are sitting on large inventories of homes as mortgage rates have taken off in recent years.

Lennar, for example, in December reported fourth-quarter results that included order growth below analyst expectations, similar to most peers. At that time, analysts at UBS also faulted the company's current-quarter outlook as below consensus and noted that the company's expectation to deliver about 85,000 homes in fiscal 2026 was also below the consensus, which was for 87,000 homes.

Lennar did cut its pace of housing starts per community by about 18% year over year, UBS said, "which we view as a positive as the industry approaches what we believe will be a better year for housing in 2026."

Lennar declined to comment on the discussions, and Taylor Morrison did not immediately return requests for comment.

The White House also did not immediately return requests for comment. The Wall Street Journal quoted an official saying that "any reporting about potential action is pure speculation."

Shares of Lennar are up nearly 6% for the week, on track to break a three-week losing streak. Shares of Taylor Morrison are gaining nearly 8% in the week so far, which also would be a break to a three-week losing run.

-Claudia Assis

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02-04-26 1531ET