Episode summary
HUD Secretary Scott Turner on cutting energy regulations for new construction
HousingWire Daily
· · 16 min · Hosts: Sarah Wheeler, Tracey Velt, Allison LaForgia, Clayton Collins · Guests: Scott Turner
Summary
HUD Secretary Scott Turner argued that housing affordability depends on staying tightly focused on HUD’s mission and stripping away rules that raise costs without adding homes. He said the department is reversing Biden-era policies it views as burdensome, including the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule and the final determination that made new FHA- and USDA-backed homes ineligible unless they met the International Energy Conservation Code, or IECC.
Turner said HUD rescinded that energy-efficiency requirement because builders were already meeting energy codes and the rule added more paperwork, more construction review, and more control from Washington. He pointed to Kansas City, Missouri, as an example of the alleged damage, saying adoption of the IECC was followed by no new home starts for 3 months, a 22% decrease in permits pulled, and a 78% reduction in the number of builders in the community.
He framed the move as part of a broader push under President Trump to lower regulatory burdens, expand supply, and make it easier for Gen Z and millennials to buy homes. Turner also emphasized the value of local lenders, human guidance in the mortgage process, and a mission-based leadership style that prioritizes homelessness, disaster recovery, and affordable housing work that directly serves the agency’s stated goals.
Key takeaways
- Turner said HUD rescinded the FHA and USDA IECC requirement because it added paperwork and oversight without building any homes.
- He cited Kansas City, Missouri, where he said IECC adoption was followed by no new home starts for 3 months and a 78% drop in builders.
- Turner said HUD’s mission is to provide safe, sustainable, quality, affordable housing, and anything outside that mission is not a priority.
- He argued that deregulation and more competition from hometown lenders and community banks will help first-time and low-to-moderate-income buyers.
- Turner said Gen Z and millennials should be able to feel hopeful about owning a home and building financial stability.
Notable quotes
“we're going to return back to the mission-minded focus of HUD. We understand what we've been called to”
“HUD essentially became a national zoning board. And so, we tore that down to restore flexibility back to the localities”
“have rescinded this final determination uh to restore this flexibility and restore uh this control back to uh builders and developers around our country”
“For the first 3 months, there were no new home starts. There was a 22% decrease in permits pulled for new construction”
“our mission at HUD is to provide safe, sustainable, quality, affordable housing. And to help more people in America to achieve the American dream”
How the episode opens
Secretary Turner, thank you for joining us at the Gathering 2026. Thrilled to have you here. Your home state, Texas.
Yes, sir. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you.
It's good to see you again, Clay. It's great to see you, too. And I know that our guests, I think we have a little over 900 registered guests here down here in in Barton Creek, um they're pumped to see you.
Like most of them had lunch in about 8 minutes so they can get back in the room and uh and hear you speak. Well, that's uh it's very humbling. Uh and I'm always grateful for people that want to invest the time to come here, you know, what we're doing at HUD.
Yep. And so, when you get an opportunity, please tell everybody I said thank you. I I certainly will.
I'll be back on the stage tomorrow and I'll make sure that that gratitude is shared. Um what you have here an exact an executive audience of mortgage and real estate and home building leaders are are people that I that I believe are just as invested in you are as you are in furthering home ownership and helping make housing more efficient, accessible, and um and hopefully more sustainable. It's up for those of us who've been in the industry for a few cycles.
We we want to see a housing market that um you know, isn't uh isn't on a cyclical turn every time we turn around. Um I know a lot of the folks here are here hoping to help further that mission by learning and sharing. Absolutely.
I feel the same and our team at HUD, we feel the same way. You know, we came into HUD, we said, you know, we're going to return back to the mission-minded focus of HUD.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- hud energy efficiency regulations
- fha loans
- usda-backed loans
- new construction
- regulatory rescission
Companies and tickers mentioned
- FHA
- USDA
- HUD
Watch the episode
Watch “HUD Secretary Scott Turner on cutting energy regulations for new construction” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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