Trump vows US won’t become ‘nation of renters’ in Davos speech

He says home ownership has always been a symbol of health and vigour of American society

Published Thu, Jan 22, 2026 · 06:30 AM

Housing affordability has emerged as a critical voter concern ahead of the midterm elections in November. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

[DAVOS, Switzerland] President Donald Trump said that the US would not “become a nation of renters,” touting a handful of measures his administration is taking to address affordability concerns during a speech in Switzerland that largely focused on his interest in acquiring Greenland.

“Home ownership has always been a symbol of health and vigour of American society but that goal fell out of reach for millions and millions of people in the Biden era because interest rates went up so high,” Trump said on Wednesday (Jan 21) at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The US president hailed an executive order he signed on Tuesday that aims to limit institutional home purchases. While Trump cast that action as a ban, it did not immediately implement new rules or regulations that would restrict companies with significant housing portfolios, but rather starts a multistep process.

Housing affordability has emerged as a critical voter concern ahead of the midterm elections in November in which Republicans will be fighting to keep control of Congress.

While Trump has previously floated many of his proposals, including directing government-administered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy US$200 billion in mortgage bonds and capping credit card rates at 10 per cent, the setting at Davos offered him a chance to burnish his populist credentials for voters back home before an audience consisting of the global elite.

Trump acknowledged the challenge his housing plans would have on Wall Street banks and institutional investment firms even as he said he would ask Congress to make the ban on institutional investors permanent and seek a law capping credit card rates at 10 per cent for a year.

DECODING ASIA

Navigate Asia in
a new global order

Get the insights delivered to your inbox.

“Many of you are here. Many of you are good friends of mine. Many of you are supporters. Sorry to do this,” Trump said. “I’m so sorry, but you’ve driven up housing prices by purchasing hundreds of single family homes.”

But, he added, “homes are built for people, not for corporations. And America will not become a nation of renters. We’re not going to do that.” At the same time, he said he was wary of taking steps that would wipe out the wealth Americans who already own homes have accumulated as a result of rising housing prices.

Addressing his plan for credit card rates – a move JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told Davos would spell “economic disaster” for the US – Trump said surging credit card debt was one of the “biggest barriers to saving for a down payment.”