On Monday, the New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)—which enforces housing laws on private landlords—released a video that was a photo-op for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani accompanied inspectors as they toured a private apartment building. The resulting video—a textbook photo-op—captured the mayor and inspectors pointing out minor infractions like faulty window balances and flower pots on fire escapes. While Mamdani framed the event as a victory for &#8220;accountability,&#8221; critics see it as a calculated distraction from the catastrophic state of the city’s own housing empire and a precursor to a massive, taxpayer-funded spending spree.
Mamdani’s rhetoric was unmistakable. Urging residents to flood the 311 system, he promised to &#8220;hold landlords accountable&#8221; for every broken plaster patch.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
What does an HPD inspection look like?<a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYCMayor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ZohranKMamdani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZohranKMamdani</a> stepped in for a day and identified six violations now being issued to the landlord.
If you see unsafe conditions, call 311. We’ll inspect and hold owners accountable. <a href="https://t.co/FhaqHKBnrn">pic.twitter.com/FhaqHKBnrn</a>
&mdash; NYC Housing (@NYCHousing) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCHousing/status/2046360618068742252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This aggressive posture toward the private sector is a cornerstone of the Mamdani administration, which has effectively declared war on private property through its &#8220;Rental Ripoff&#8221; hearing series. Led by Director of Tenant Protection Cea Weaver—who has infamously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/marxism-in-the-metropolis-nycs-new-tenant-czar-has-targeted-white-homeowners-private-property?utm_source=chatgpt.com">labeled</a> homeownership a &#8220;tool of white supremacy&#8221;—the administration appears less interested in urban planning and more focused on what some describe as &#8220;Soviet-style collectivism.&#8221;
The irony of Mamdani’s crusade against &#8220;private slumlords&#8221; is the staggering state of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). While the mayor hunts for missing window guards in private buildings, NYCHA—the city’s own public housing system—was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dozens-of-nyc-govt-employees-arrested-by-feds-most-single-day-bribery-arrests-in-doj-history?utm_source=chatgpt.com">buckling</a> under a $78 billion repair backlog as late as 2024. Residents there aren&#8217;t just dealing with flower pots on fire escapes; they face chronic infestations, lead paint, and broken elevators.
Mamdani’s attitude with NYCHA is one of &#8220;throwing money at the problem&#8221; while ignoring the rot within. In 2024, federal prosecutors <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/nyregion/nyc-public-housing-corruption.html">charged</a> 70 NYCHA employees in a massive bribery and extortion scheme—the largest single-day bribery takedown in Department of Justice history. These officials allegedly took $2 million in kickbacks for maintenance contracts.
Rather than addressing this &#8220;culture of corruption,&#8221; Mamdani has consistently framed NYCHA&#8217;s failure as a mere lack of &#8220;public investment,&#8221; ignoring that the agency collected a record-low 65% of charged rent in 2022.
Landlords, particularly those managing rent-stabilized buildings, warn that Mamdani’s policies are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of decay. With financing costs skyrocketing and rental revenue frozen by city mandates, major providers like the Pinnacle Group have already been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-weeks-of-one-sided-open-mic-complaints-mamdani-eyes-housing-power-grab">forced into bankruptcy</a>.
The message to New Yorkers is clear: the administration intends to squeeze the private market until it breaks, then step in with &#8220;collective&#8221; solutions funded by a city budget already facing a $12.6 billion gap.
While Mamdani &#8220;imagines&#8221; a better city for the cameras, the reality for many remains piles of rat-infested trash and a public housing system that remains the city&#8217;s most negligent landlord.

NYC Mayor Mamdani Delivers Address On His First 100 Days In Office

Mamdani’s Soviet-Style Photo-Op Targets Landlords While NYC’s Public Housing Empire Crumbles

General

Housing

Leftism

New York City

Politics

Zohran Mamdani

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has completed his tenant reach-out series, allowing him to start the process of crafting policy based on the testimonies his administration collected over the last six weeks.
Each week in a different borough of New York City, Mamdani invited renters to air their grievances about their landlords — one of Mamdani’s flagship initiatives. Within ninety days of the hearings, the Mayor’s Office of Tenant Protection, along with other agencies, will bring a joint report to Mamdani’s desk showcasing common themes they learned from tenants.
Mamdani’s team told renters that they wanted to hear about repairs, problems with rats, problems with heat, deceptive fees from landlords, and “ICE-related harassment in buildings.”
“Your testimony will directly inform policy changes to strengthen city policies to protect tenants,” an ad for the dubbed &#8220;Rental Ripoff&#8221; series stated.
The Daily Wire spoke to one of the tenants offering her testimony.
“I’ve been living in my apartment for over ten years. We didn’t have heat in the apartment most of the time for years. We had walls that were collapsing, a ceiling that’s collapsing, a horrific bug and rat infestation problem,” a female tenant, Abigail, said.
When asked why she remained in the apartment, she told The Daily Wire it was because it was rent stabilized. She pays $300 a month for her share of a three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. She said the total rent for the apartment was $900 monthly, while the average rent for a three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn is <a href="https://www.apartments.com/rent-market-trends/brooklyn-ny/">$4,892</a> a month.
Abigail explained that she was a comic strip artist, so it was hard to find an affordable place to live. She hopes Mamdani keeps her rent frozen at $300 and that he mandates that her landlord fix all that is wrong with her apartment.
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The Rental Ripoff hearings were led by Mamdani’s Director of Tenant Protection Cea Weaver — who infamously claimed that “Homeownership is a tool of white supremacy.” In her presentation, titled “New Yorkers vs. Bad Landlords,” Weaver told renters that the mayor’s office would use the feedback collected at the hearings to inform housing policy going forward.
New York real estate broker Adam Frisch warned The Daily Wire that the hearings are too one-sided. “They should pull from a combination of tenants, landlords, financiers, developers, and economists. Everybody looks at the situation with their own biases, and it’s the role of the mayor to sit down with tenants and landlords and say I know you’re both unhappy. Let’s see what we can do.”
Landlords blame rent stabilization for the poor conditions of certain apartments. Without the ability to raise rent, they say, they are unable to generate sufficient revenue to maintain their buildings.
Pinnacle Group, a major New York landlord, filed for bankruptcy in 2025, claiming that the “sharp increase in financing costs outpaced rental revenue, which could not be correspondingly increased due to rent stabilization.”

NYC Mayor Mamdani Holds News Conference

After Weeks Of One-Sided Open Mic Complaints, Mamdani Eyes Housing Power Grab

Economy

The pathway to the upper middle class remains open, with millions of American families moving up the income ladder even as public perception grows more pessimistic, according to a new report.
Researchers at the <a href="https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-because-of-a-booming-upper-middle-class/">American Enterprise Institute</a> (AEI) found that while the “core” middle class has shrunk slightly over the past several decades, it has not been hollowed out. Rather, more Americans are ascending into the upper middle class than at any point in modern history.
Using an absolute definition of class based on purchasing power rather than relative comparisons, the study found that the share of families in the upper middle class tripled, rising from about 10% in 1979 to roughly 31% in 2024. Over that same period, the share of Americans who are poor or near-poor dropped dramatically, from more than half of families to roughly one-third.
The findings challenge the common narrative of a collapsing middle class. The study argues that many claims about a “hollowed-out” middle class rely on relative definitions that automatically shrink the middle as incomes rise. By contrast, when measuring what families can actually afford, the data show broad gains across the income distribution.
“Decrying a shrinking or hollowed-out middle class is just a gloomy way of saying the upper-middle class has boomed,” the researchers concluded. 
Median family income, adjusted for inflation and household size, has risen more than 50% since the late 1970s. At the same time, wage growth, particularly over the long term, has outpaced price increases, helping push more families into higher income brackets.
Today, the upper middle class, defined in the study as families of three earning roughly $133,000 to $400,000 annually, accounts for nearly a third of U.S. households. Even more striking: for the first time on record, more American families are above the middle-class threshold than below it.
Despite rising incomes, many Americans who now fall into the upper middle class do not feel wealthy. Families earning well into six figures increasingly describe themselves as “average,” squeezed by rising housing costs, education expenses, and a broader cost-of-living crunch.
Randy Shilling, a Texas resident whose household earns around $220,000 a year, said, “I view myself as an average Joe,” despite having $3 million saved for retirement, he told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/more-americans-are-breaking-into-the-upper-middle-class-bf8b7cb2?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdVUm7NIyO23tjCzL8qjyiAHgUPq20KjnPypm6GrW5FA8nvttuOllJm1yykbIU%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69d3c52a&amp;gaa_sig=HuRXPX2t2k42t3TlSl55IkpevN_snKX49h7jQKvOKf0PENh9Jmr66WJFlTUtPC_pulorUlby9SIcStaTu45g7Q%3D%3D">Wall Street Journal</a>. Laura Shields, 46, told the Journal that she only began feeling financially comfortable in the last 10 years. She and her husband bring in approximately $240,000 per year, but have a son nearing college age. They fear that loans are the only answer, wiping out their progress. 
Those concerns are not unfounded. The median <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS">home price</a> in the United States now exceeds $400,000, while <a href="https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college">college tuition</a> continues to climb, often nearing $40,000 per year. 
That disconnect helps explain why, even amid measurable economic progress, pessimism persists. <a href="https://talkerresearch.com/9-in-10-americans-say-there-is-a-cost-of-living-crisis-survey/?ref=finco-services.ghost.io">Surveys</a> show that a large majority of Americans still feel burdened by a high cost-of-living. 
Still, AEI’s researchers argue that the broader trend is clear: economic growth, expanded opportunities, and a stronger safety net have combined to lift more Americans into higher-income tiers over time.
Importantly, income gains were not limited to the top. The research found that earnings increased across nearly the entire income distribution, with even lower-income households significantly better off than their counterparts decades ago.
None of this means inequality hasn’t grown; it has, particularly at the very top, the study finds little evidence that gains for higher earners came at the expense of others. Instead, the data suggests a more complex picture: an America where the middle class is evolving, not evaporating, and where upward mobility remains a defining feature of the economy.

Ariel Skelley / The Image Bank / Getty Images

The ‘Middle Class Is Dying’ Claim Doesn’t Hold Up Against One Key Reality

Middle Class

Poll

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Friday aimed at slashing regulations that have slowed home-building and complicated the lending process as the president zeroes in on his house affordability agenda.
One <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/removing-regulatory-barriers-to-affordable-home-construction/">order</a> seeks to take federal regulatory burdens off of homebuilders, streamline federal permitting for housing developments, and develop regulatory best practices for state and local governments to follow. The other <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/promoting-access-to-mortgage-credit/">order</a> would &#8220;improve the availability and affordability of mortgage credit&#8221; and ease regulations that have especially affected local lenders, such as community banks, according to the White House.
&#8220;It is the policy of my Administration to reduce regulatory barriers to building homes and to steward taxpayer dollars in a manner that promotes housing affordability,&#8221; one of the orders states.
Trump&#8217;s move to address housing affordability comes as the White House focuses on tackling economic issues ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Housing costs remain on the forefront of many Americans&#8217; minds after prices jumped in the years after the COVID pandemic, when construction significantly slowed.
&#8220;The American dream of homeownership depends on a dynamic housing market in which a varied inventory of new homes is built and renovated each year,&#8221; Trump&#8217;s executive order added. &#8220;Layers of unnecessary regulatory barriers, slow permitting processes, and onerous mandates at all levels of government have delayed construction, restricted development, and driven up the costs of new housing. These constraints have made housing less affordable for many Americans.&#8221;
On Thursday, the Senate easily <a href="https://apnews.com/article/affordable-housing-congress-bipartisan-8c15c9600bf0bd40e2420785aa5af20c">passed</a> legislation that would ease regulations and prevent corporations from buying single-family homes. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who sponsored the bill alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), called the bill &#8220;consequential legislation that makes it easier to become a homeowner.&#8221; The Senate bill would also streamline environmental reviews and inspections, which would likely speed up the homebuilding process.
The bill, which passed 89-10 in the Senate, now heads to the House, where it faces an unknown future. Leaders in the House, which passed similar legislation earlier this year, have expressed opposition to some parts of the Senate bill. Even if the House passes the housing bill, it&#8217;s unclear how soon President Trump would sign it. Trump said last week that he would not sign any piece of legislation until the Senate passed the SAVE America Act.
On mortgage rates, the Trump administration believes slashing regulations will allow more lenders to compete in the game and thereby drive down borrowing costs.
The White House said that its action on mortgage aims to &#8220;reduce the regulatory burden on community banks and otherwise facilitate community bank engagement in mortgage activity; foster innovation, growth, and consumer choice in the mortgage market; modernize origination and closing standards to reduce lending costs; remove regulatory distortions to the structure of the mortgage market and to ensure capital and liquidity frameworks subject similar credit and liquidity risks to similar regulation across the system; promote competition among mortgage lenders of all charter types to drive down mortgage rates; and strengthen housing-finance liquidity.&#8221;
Trump also continues to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to further lower the interest rate, which has dropped to the 3.50%-3.75% range. The Federal Reserve is set to meet next week to decide whether to move the interest rate or keep it steady.
&#8220;Where is the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome &#8216;Too Late&#8217; Powell, today? He should be dropping Interest Rates, IMMEDIATELY, not waiting for the next meeting,&#8221; Trump said on Thursday.

Donald Trump

Trump Takes Step To Make It Easier For Americans To Buy A Home

Executive

federal regulation

White House

NEW YORK — Residents lined up outside a Brooklyn high school Thursday to air their grievances about the city’s landlords, inaugurating one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s flagship initiatives.
The event was the first of five planned “Rental Ripoff Hearings,” which aim to “uncover policy recommendations that will more effectively and systematically protect tenants in their homes.” Led by Mamdani’s Director of Tenant Protection Cea Weaver — who infamously claimed that “Homeownership is a tool of white supremacy” — said the proceeding would focus on recording violations, requesting repairs, and exposing abusive landlords.
In her presentation, titled “New Yorkers vs. Bad Landlords,” Weaver told the room that the mayor’s office would use the feedback collected at the rental rip off hearings to inform housing policy going forward.
One resident in attendance described the poor conditions of her apartment to The Daily Wire. 
“The ceiling caved in,” she said of the three-bedroom apartment she shared with roommates. “There’s rodents and rats and we haven’t had heat the last two winters.”
Asked why she remained in the apartment, she explained that it is rent-stabilized and that she is a comic artist who cannot afford another apartment. She said her share of the monthly rent is $300, while the total rent for the unit is $900. The average rent for a three-bedroom apartment in New York is <a href="https://www.apartments.com/rent-market-trends/brooklyn-ny/">$4,841</a> a month.
But not everyone was happy with the hearing. Leftist critics <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nycha-residents-frustrated-about-rental-ripoff-hearings/">objected</a> that the hearings were limited to private housing, excluding residents in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) properties — about one in 16 New Yorkers.
In the middle of Thursday’s session, a masked woman wearing knee-high green socks stormed the stage to <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/nycha-tenants-sound-off-inhumane-conditions-ahead-of-mamdanis-first-rental-ripoff-hearing/">criticize</a> this exclusion.
“NYCHA should be allowed in the motherf*cking building,” she yelled. “Poor people need a f*cking voice.”
Weaver and other members of the Mamdani administration let the woman interrupt the hearing for nearly two minutes before addressing the masked individual. Weaver informed the woman that NYCHA could speak to representatives just like the other New Yorkers. They then helped the woman exit the stage. As she exited, she almost took the wooden podium with her.
Private landlords, too, are unsurprisingly unhappy with the hearings.
“They should pull from a combination of tenants, landlords, financiers, developers, and economists,” New York real estate broker Adam Frisch told The Daily Wire, saying the hearings were too one-sided. “Everybody looks at the situation with their own biases, and it&#8217;s the role of the mayor to sit down with tenants and landlords and say I know you’re both unhappy. Let&#8217;s see what we can do.”
Landlords blame rent stabilization for the poor conditions of certain apartments. Without the ability to raise rent, they say, they are unable to generate sufficient revenue to maintain their buildings.
Pinnacle Group, a major New York landlord, filed for bankruptcy in 2025, claiming that the “sharp increase in financing costs outpaced rental revenue, which could not be correspondingly increased due to rent stabilization.”
Mamdani, who promised while campaigning to host a Rental Ripoff Hearing in each of the city’s five boroughs, was not present at Thursday’s event. He had spent the day in Washington, D.C., meeting in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump. The pair <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-and-mamdanis-secret-d-c-meeting-centers-on-a-defining-nyc-fight">discussed</a> strategies to increase housing in New York City.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Interview

We Went To Zohran Mamdani’s First ‘Rental Ripoff Hearing.’ Everyone Was Mad.

Landlord

Renters

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will have their second in-person meeting Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
Both the president and the mayor kept the Oval Office encounter under wraps until Thursday afternoon—though The New York Times reports that people familiar with the matter said the two would discuss strategies to increase housing supply in New York City, an issue that has become a defining challenge for Mamdani’s administration.
It remains unclear whether a formal agenda has been finalized.
Mamdani and several of his top advisers reportedly traveled to Washington on Thursday morning. Unlike his previous visit to the White House in November, this trip was not publicly announced in advance.
The mayor posted a selfie from his flight to Washington in November, drawing attention to the high-profile meeting. Media outlets were aware of the November meeting days in advance, but as with Thursday’s meeting, few details about the agenda were released beforehand. When Mamdani landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in November, he was swarmed by the press before departing for the White House.
Their first meeting surprised political observers from both parties. Despite significant policy differences, Trump and Mamdani appeared cordial, even allowing portions of the session to be open to the press. The two exchanged light-hearted remarks, with a memorable moment occurring when Mamdani was asked by a reporter if he still thought President Trump was a fascist. Trump responded: “Just say yes; it’s easier than explaining.”
On Tuesday, Trump brought up Mamdani during his State of the Union address, noting he was a “nice guy,” while adding that he disagrees with what he called the mayor’s “bad policy.”
The timing of Thursday’s closed-door meeting underscores the growing urgency of housing affordability in New York. Last week, Mamdani proposed raising property taxes by 9.5% to balance the city’s budget. The mayor has made tenant protections and expanded housing construction central pillars of his administration.
Later Thursday evening, the mayor is scheduled to kick off his &#8220;Rental Rip-off&#8221; series, a public forum designed to give renters across the city an opportunity to share concerns about rising rents, landlord practices, and housing conditions. City officials say testimony gathered during the series will help shape future legislative proposals.

Zohran Mamdani, Donald Trump

Trump And Mamdani’s ‘Secret’ D.C. Meeting Centers On A Defining NYC Fight

Washington D.C.

As a member of Gen Z, I am often told my generation is a lost cause for conservatism — too cynical, too progressive, or just too far gone.
That assumption couldn’t be more wrong. Gen Z isn’t rejecting America; we’re demanding that it work again. And if conservatives are serious about reclaiming the soul of the nation, the path forward runs directly through the issues my generation lives with every day.
Gen Z came of age at the crossroads of stability and uncertainty. 
During President Trump’s first term, we witnessed a strong economy, interest rates that opened the door to homeownership, an end to forever wars, and a return to policies that prioritized the family.
Under President Biden, however, millions of young Americans graduated college and took entry-level jobs that barely covered their student loan payments, even as the cost of everything rose faster than their paychecks. They were told to follow the rules — go to college, take on loans, delay adulthood. Then, when those rules failed them, they were blamed.
What frustrates my peers isn’t tradition or responsibility; it’s a system that feels rigged against them. 
That’s precisely where conservatism, properly articulated, can meet the moment.
<h3>Homeownership</h3>
For Gen Z, homeownership feels less like a milestone and more like a fantasy. Sky-high rents that prevent us from putting money into savings, zoning restrictions that choke supply, and inflation driven by reckless federal spending have priced young people out of opportunity. 
Conservatives should call this what it is: a policy failure. Government rules make it harder to build homes, while bad monetary policy drains savings and pushes the dream of stability further out of reach for young families.
If we believe in ownership, stability, and opportunity, then we should lead on reforms that make it easier — not harder — for young Americans to buy homes and build wealth.
<h3>Student Debt</h3>
Then there’s student debt. Gen Z didn’t invent the student loan crisis; we inherited it.
Many borrowers were reckless, and they should repay what they owe. But recklessness was enabled by a federal loan system that treated teenagers as capable of signing six-figure contracts while shielding universities from the consequences of failure.
Subsidies have fueled tuition inflation and reduced institutional accountability, leaving students to bear the full cost of bad decisions — both theirs and the systems.
Conservatives should reject blanket loan “forgiveness” that shifts the burden to taxpayers, but we must also offer real solutions: ending the federal government’s role as a blank-check lender so private institutions once again have incentives to lend responsibly, expanding alternatives like apprenticeships and credentialing, and breaking the cartel between the federal government and higher education. Responsibility cuts both ways—and universities should finally be forced to bear some.
<h3>Building A Family </h3>
Most surprising to pundits — but obvious to anyone paying attention — is Gen Z’s renewed interest in traditional family values. After watching the loneliness, instability, and social breakdown of the last two decades, many in my generation are rediscovering what older generations once took for granted: marriage matters, family matters, and children are not obstacles to fulfillment but central to it. This isn’t nostalgia; it’s realism. Gen Z wants meaning, not just mobility. We want strong relationships, safe neighborhoods, and a culture that doesn’t sneer at commitment.
Conservatives should lean into this—not with lectures, but with policies that make it possible to start and raise a family. That means an economy where a young family has the chance to create a home and build a foundation for the future, a tax code that doesn’t treat marriage like a liability, and leaders who value faith, responsibility, and strong bonds across generations. When conservatives defend the family, we aren’t clinging to the past — we’re offering a future Gen Z actually wants.
The fight for America’s soul isn’t about writing off an entire generation. It’s about proving that our ideas can meet real needs in real lives. Gen Z is open, skeptical, and looking for answers. If conservatives are honest about the economic realities we’re dealing with and defend the institutions that make life meaningful, my generation won’t just listen — we’ll lead.
* * *
Jake Matthews is a communications manager for technology, economics, and energy at The Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Group of young multi-ethnic startup business team collaborating on project in modern office

Gen Z Isn’t Lost. We’re Looking For A Conservatism That Works.

Conservatives

Gen Z

Heritage Foundation

Opinion

Real estate

Minneapolis’ housing plan is facing a fair housing investigation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the federal government announced on Thursday afternoon.
Specifically, HUD is concerned that aspects of the Minneapolis 2040 plan may violate Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act, according to a press release. The release notes that the plan’s proposal for “cultural districts… where a significant portion of the population is comprised of people of color, Indigenous people, and/or immigrant communities&#8221; could be discriminatory. In addition, the Trump administration is raising red flags about the city&#8217;s emphasis on “people of color” and “indigenous people” for homeownership programs.
“For example, your Community Planning and Economic Development department will prioritize ‘rental housing for Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Immigrant communities’ by ‘leveraging [its] rental licensing authority,’” Craig Trainor, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, wrote in a <a href="https://www.hud.gov/sites/default/files/FHEO/documents/Ltr-from-AsstSecTrainor-to-MayorFrey-Fair-Housing-Act-Investigation_Redacted.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Mayor Jacob Frey. “That is not going to fly.”
HUD Secretary Scott Turner noted that Minnesota has been under intense scrutiny for fraud allegations and convictions related to government programs, which led Gov. Tim Walz to opt not to seek a third term this November.
“Minnesota is ground zero for fraud and corruption because they have chosen to ignore the law to serve a cynical political agenda. This undermines our American values, united by a common heritage, language, and commitment to equal treatment under law,” Turner said in a statement, adding that his department “will not stand for illegal racial and ethnic preferences that deny Americans their right to equal protection under the law.”
Trainor said that Minnesotans are being “held captive to the riotous impulses of left-wing cultural arsonists.”
“Its largest city, Minneapolis, has fared no better under its clownish mayor, Jacob Frey, whose government may be engaging in unlawful discrimination by prioritizing Minneapolis residents for housing based on race and national origin rather than need. The Trump Administration will ensure Minneapolis fully complies with the Fair Housing Act,” he stated.
In response to the investigation, a city spokesperson told The Daily Wire in a statement that “Minneapolis is proud of its record on housing &#8211; to build a city that is vibrant, safe and inclusive for all. In fact, we have award-winning affordable housing programs, and our work is a model for cities around the country. This investigation appears to be about politics not affordable housing.”
The Trump administration has made efforts to clamp down on federal funding for programs ranging from food stamps to Medicaid unless more accountability measures are enacted. A federal judge halted the food stamp funding pause this week after the state sued, but the case continues, MinnPost reported.
Several individuals are facing federal wire fraud charges for attempting to abuse Minnesota’s Housing Stability Services Program, the DOJ announced in September.

Mayor Jacob Frey

Minneapolis Under Investigation Over Possible Discriminatory Housing Program

Housing and Urban Development

Minneapolis

Minnesota

Trump Administration

President Donald Trump announced that the federal government will purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds in an effort he believes will help lower housing costs.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, he said former President Joe Biden “ignored the housing market” and said that he, by contrast, is giving “special attention” to the issue.
“Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my First Term, a truly great decision, and against the advice of the ‘experts,’ it is now worth many times that amount — AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE — and has $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH,” he said.
“Because of this, I am instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS. This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable,” the president continued. Trump directly said it would help in “restoring Affordability,” which has become a buzzword on the 2026 campaign trail as the country still recovers from post-pandemic and Biden-era inflation.
The announcement comes after he said on Wednesday that he would be taking action against institutional investors purchasing single-family homes.
“It is for that reason, and much more, that I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations. I will discuss this topic, including further Housing and Affordability proposals, and more, at my speech in Davos in two weeks,” Trump wrote on Wednesday.
The Daily Wire reported after Trump’s Wednesday announcement, this is part of a larger effort by the administration to tackle housing woes nationwide, including the push from the president to select a Federal Reserve chair who will aggressively cut interest rates, as Chair Jerome Powell leaves the role in May.
&#8220;Could somebody please inform Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell that he is hurting the Housing Industry, very badly? People can&#8217;t get a Mortgage because of him. There is no Inflation, and every sign is pointing to a major Rate Cut,&#8221; the president posted to Truth Social in August.
Home prices have surged over the last decade by 105%, according to MoneyLion in October.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s Director of Tenant Protection might need some protection herself after a tough first week on the job left her in tears.
On Monday, Cea Weaver caught flak for old social media posts, including one claiming home ownership was a weapon of white supremacy. On Tuesday, she struggled to defend the Mamdani administration&#8217;s controversial housing policies in a Spectrum News interview. And on Wednesday, a reporter confronted the housing radical about her mother&#8217;s $1.6 million Nashville home.
Instead of responding, Weaver <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/01/07/us-news/zohran-mamdanis-tenant-advocate-cea-weaver-breaks-down-crying-when-asked-about-hypocritical-gentrification-comments/">reportedly</a> started crying and ran back inside her apartment. The 37-year-old activist has a history of complaining about gentrification, including in her Brooklyn neighborhood — where she is herself a gentrifier.
It&#8217;s a rough start for Weaver, who is expected to play a major role in Mamdani&#8217;s administration. The tenant czar is slated to direct Mamdani&#8217;s &#8220;Rental Ripoff Hearings,&#8221; struggle sessions in which residents of all five boroughs will be able to publicly voice their complaints about their rental experience.
&#8220;Working New Yorkers will be able to speak about the challenges they face,&#8221; from behind a microphone, Mamdani says, &#8220;from poor building conditions to hidden fees on rent payments.” The Mamdani administration says it will then identify “common themes” in the complaints to “directly inform policy interventions to take on these ripoff tactics.”
Mamdani already gave one tenant the floor at a press conference announcing the “Rental Ripoff” hearings. Josie Wells is a tenant at 85 Clarkson Avenue, a rent-stabilized apartment building in Brooklyn. Wells <a href="https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=7670df6d756a93b6&amp;rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS1183US1185&amp;udm=7&amp;fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZrjP_Cx0LI1Ytb_FGcOviEreERTNAkkP8Y6EXltYTGWs9RGaEMfZ2dZFFrbmM-rnq9t2Yd6CLmSU0fTw2YpsUFAZkjtkV3nlJNkF6dgnv8hBPbkvFBFvt9qVz5tXWHwMIOLAC51x133zpKWFy3_mb_RMbN-fftEKVRqPS6EEOPe03eIz5AliHkH7tItgiHkmm33AQJg&amp;q=mamdani+press+conference+housing&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjJnLSQuvWRAxWRD1kFHXKuH1QQtKgLegQIFRAB&amp;biw=736&amp;bih=790&amp;dpr=2#fpstate=ive&amp;vld=cid:10516219,vid:Adjn_PIVwa4,st:0">complained</a> about the “dirty walls that haven’t seen a fresh coat of paint in years, cabinets hanging precariously in kitchens and bathrooms, [and] cracked plaster [that] zig-zags across ceilings and hallways.”
85 Clarkson Avenue is one of the many properties owned by the Pinnacle Group, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2025, and was featured at this press conference.
At the press conference, a sign read, “As we rise, Pinnacle will fall.” The sign was displayed by the Union of Pinnacle Tenants, who organized to fight “for a say in the auction process to ensure that repairs are made, our rent stabilization is respected, and our buildings aren’t sold to yet another abusive landlord.”
Advisors to Pinnacle Group <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-29/bankrupt-nyc-rental-buildings-get-451-million-offer-from-summit">said</a> that “the bankruptcies were caused by a sharp rise in interest rates, inflation-driven increases in operating expenses, and lower rent collections.”
Weaver says the Mamdani administration has gotten involved to ensure the building goes to someone who can pay for upkeep while also complying with rent price caps.
&#8220;The city intervened in the bankruptcy proceeding in order for the city to take a hard look at the conditions that are in the building as well as a plan that has been put forth by the top bidder, because we want to ensure that whoever is taking on this portfolio is able to comply with both rent stabilization laws as well as housing maintenance code.&#8221;
As of now, it is unclear if there is a bidder who fits that description.

Overhead view of some New York City Housing Authority  (NYCHA) projects (1977)

Mamdani’s Director Of Tenant Protection Breaks Down After Brutal First Week On The Job

U.S.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he plans to take executive action to stop “large institutional investors” from buying “single-family” homes in the United States.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the move comes as housing affordability remains a major concern for Americans, adding that he would like Congress to codify the policy into law.
“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream. It was the reward for working hard, and doing the right thing, but now, because of the Record High Inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans,” he posted.
“It is for that reason, and much more, that I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations. I will discuss this topic, including further Housing and Affordability proposals, and more, at my speech in Davos in two weeks,” he continued. The details of the plan are currently unknown.
A 2024 Government Accountability Office <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106643?utm_campaign=usgao_email&amp;utm_content=topic_housing&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> found that the impact of institutional investors varies widely by region, with many areas in the southern United States showing a significant share of the single-family rental homes owned by investors with more than 1,000 properties.
“Millions of homeowners defaulted on their mortgages during the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Institutional investors — companies that own a lot of single-family rental homes — bought many of these foreclosed homes in bulk and converted them into rental housing, especially in states across the southern U.S.,” the GAO’s website states regarding the report.
“Researchers found that institutional investors may have contributed to increasing home prices and rents following the financial crisis. However, it&#8217;s unclear how these investors affected homeownership opportunities or tenants because many related factors affect homeownership — e.g., market conditions, demographic factors, and lending conditions,” it continues.
Interest rates are also expected to be a major factor, as Trump is expected to name a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May. The president has called for rates to be cut more aggressively, which could impact how much homebuyers can afford to borrow.

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Trump Makes Big Move To Combat Spiking Home Prices, Takes Aim At Big Investors

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With the median home price hovering north of $433,000 and no signs of mortgage rates dropping anytime soon, many Americans may have to put off their dream of buying a house.
Many of those who do buy homes may have begun their search on Zillow, a popular real estate website. Some might even take advantage of a Zillow Home Loan, conveniently available on the same site as the listings.
Zillow says its home loans are &#8220;competitive.&#8221; And while they were slightly cheaper than competitors in 2022, they&#8217;ve grown steadily more expensive in subsequent years — and a <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5951355">new study</a> funded by CoStar suggests that Zillow is overcharging borrowers.
Steven C. Salop of the Georgetown University Law Center reports that borrowers who used Zillow Home Loans paid higher mortgage costs than those who borrowed from other lenders. On average, consumers who chose Zillow paid 10 to 15% more in annual percentage rate.
In 2024, Zillow’s mortgages carried an average cost of about $4,600 more than competitors on a typical loan size of $337,000. That difference amounts to roughly $21 more per month over a 30-year mortgage — assuming the loan is held full-term.
The study concludes that lower-income borrowers were hardest hit. For borrowers making $60,000 or less in 2024, Zillow loans cost an added 3% of the loan’s value over time, according to the analysis. The study also found racial disparities in pricing, alleging in 2024 that white non-Hispanic and Asian borrowers saw a 1.5% surcharge while black borrowers faced a 2.9% surcharge, compared with similar borrowers at other lenders.
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Salop analyzed federal mortgage data from 2022 through 2024, comparing Zillow Home Loans with all other lenders. The sample focused on 30-year fixed-rate purchase mortgages and sought to compare nearly identical loans by controlling for borrower characteristics, loan type, geography, and market conditions.
Zillow has pushed back on the report, <a href="https://www.onlinemarketplaces.com/articles/zillow-challenges-inaccurate-study-as-author-defends-findings/?referrer=grok.com">saying</a> it draws on inaccurate information and that the study was funded by a competitor.
“Zillow Home Loans is committed to both fair lending and pro-consumer practices,&#8221; the company said in a statement. &#8220;We have a robust fair lending compliance program.&#8221;
Zillow is currently <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/zillow-hit-with-class-action-over-alleged-mortgage-steering-scheme-2025-11-10/">facing</a> two class-action lawsuits alleging the company “operates programs in which its affiliate real estate agents receive high-value sales leads only if they meet internal quotas for securing pre-approved mortgages from Zillow Home Loans.”

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Zillow Overcharges For Home Loans, Poor Borrowers Hardest Hit: Report

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