Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The US said on Friday that government-backed home loans for non-permanent residents have fallen to nearly zero, more than a year after a policy change excluded them from such support. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, said the shift followed a rule change that stopped non-permanent residents from accessing Federal Housing Administration-backed loans meant for first-time homebuyers.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner marked the development by posting a video with the remark, “Dallas ka Desi Housing Boom Khatam?” In a statement, he said, “We are preventing illegals and non-residents from accessing taxpayer-backed programs at the expense of American homebuyers. Today, that share is zero. Make no mistake – exploit our citizens, and HUD will act.”
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The issue has come into focus as immigration emerges as a key theme in the midterm elections in Texas, a Republican stronghold where the party is facing a strong challenge from the Democrats. Several pollsters have forecast a close contest in the state, where President Donald Trump and Vice President J D Vance have made multiple trips to strengthen Republican support.
Texas is home to more than 500,000 South Asians, a large section of them of Indian origin. The PTI report said staunch Republicans have described the situation as an “Indian invasion”.
In May last year, HUD changed its policy to exclude non-permanent residents, including those on H1-B visas, from availing FHA-supported loans for first-time homebuyers. Before the change took effect, non-permanent residents accounted for about 5.8 per cent of FHA purchase originations and 5.6 per cent of purchase mortgages across the wider market, according to ICE data shared with HousingWire.
After the rule change, their share of FHA purchase loans dropped to about 0.1 per cent. Their share of purchase mortgages across all loan types also fell by 2.2 percentage points to 3.4 per cent, the data showed. Turner said, “President Trump promised to put Americans first, and HUD delivered.”
The video shared by Turner showed a person claiming that in Collin County in Texas, home prices fell by nearly nine per cent year-on-year as of February, more than double the drop recorded across the wider Dallas-Fort Worth region. The video also claimed that the fall in home prices came after the Trump administration began a clampdown on H1-B visas, which led to mass layoffs in the technology sector.
The developments bring together a policy change on FHA-backed loans, fresh data showing a sharp drop in borrowing by non-permanent residents, and a wider political battle over immigration in Texas.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
