Trump housing plan to allow 401(k) money for down payments, adviser says

Updates headline, style on 401(k) WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to allow investors to use some of their retirement funds to make a down payment on a house, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday, adding that more details will be released next week. “We’re going to allow people to take money out of their 401(k) s and use that for down payment,” he told Fox Business Network in an interview, adding that U.S. President Donald Trump “will put the final plan out in Davos next week.” Hassett, who said he would be traveling with the Republican president to the economic conference in Switzerland, added that they were still looking for “a simple” way to allow the fund move so that it would not hurt people’s retirement plans. “We’re still talking about the mechanics of it,” Hassett told FBN’s “Mornings with Maria” program. The expected plan comes as Trump grapples with economic headwinds a year after taking office and ahead of November’s midterm election, having campaigned on a quick fix to higher prices for American consumers. U.S. housing affordability in particular has remained a top issue as high mortgage rates and elevated home prices have sidelined many would-be buyers and slowed market activity. 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 and Freddie Mac in a bid to bring down mortgage rates. He has also repeatedly called on the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower its benchmark rates. Consumer inflation data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this week showed housing inflation remained strong. 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. But some analysts and economists say a key issue is a lack of supply, and that local zoning and regulation could have a bigger impact. Lower rates, for example, could increase demand for homes that without more supply would likely push prices higher.