KEY TAKEAWAYS: Trump orders $200 billion in mortgage bond purchases to lower rates and housing costs. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will execute the bond buying, boosting lender and housing stocks. Mortgage lenders, homebuilders, REITs and credit bureaus posted sharp gains. Analysts warn lower ra tes could lift demand but may not solve housing supply constraints.   U.S. mortgage lenders and housing-related stocks surged on Friday after President Donald Trump ordered $200 billion in mortgage bond purchases in an attempt to bring down housing costs. U.S. housing affordability has remained under sustained pressure, as high mortgage rates and elevated home prices have sidelined many would-be buyers and slowed activity across the housing market. Trump said in a post on social media platform Truth Social the purchase was aimed at lowering mortgage rates and monthly payments to make housing affordable. “I am giving special attention to the housing market,” he added. U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said on X later on Thursday U.S. government-controlled mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will execute the purchase. Their stocks, which trade over-the-counter, added 1.2% each. “This is not a surprise,” analysts at TD Cowen wrote in a note, adding the move could help narrow the spread between the 30-year mortgage and the 10-year Treasury yield. A narrower spread can translate into lower mortgage rates for homebuyers, easing borrowing costs and potentially lifting housing demand. “Every little bit will help push mortgage yields lower, but this might be self-defeating in terms of housing affordability. It might get a few people off the fence about listing their homes, but it will also increase demand for housing,” Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management told Reuters. The Philadelphia Housing index added 4.8% and The MSCI US REIT Index also rose 0.6%. BRINGING CONSUMERS BACK Investors have been watching closely for policy moves, market shifts or lower interest rates that could draw buyers back and lift mortgage volumes after a prolonged housing slowdown. Consumer lender loanDepot surged 24%, while Rocket Companies gained 6.6%. UWM Holdings was last up 11.6% and Opendoor Technologies rose nearly 19%. Major homebuilders Lennar and D.R. Horton were last up 7.5% and 6%, respectively, while PulteGroup gained 6%. Consumer credit scorers, which make money from credit checks tied to lending activity, also rallied, with Fair Isaac, Equifax and TransUnion rising between 4.6% and 5%. Policymakers have faced growing pressure to find ways to lower borrowing costs and revive housing activity after years of subdued demand and sluggish loan growth, with the issue gaining momentum in Washington ahead of the mid-term elections. “Political rhetoric in the housing market (is) not slowing down,” analysts at Jefferies wrote in a note. The brokerage estimated mortgage rates would need to fall to the mid- to high-5% range from its current rate of 6.2% to improve housing affordability and bring consumers back to the market. Earlier this week, Trump also said his administration is moving to ban Wall Street firms from buying up single-family homes in a bid to reduce home prices. “The biggest problem with housing is supply, not demand, and the way to fix supply is at the local level with zoning and regulations, not at the federal level,” Jacobsen said.    (Reporting by Manya Saini and Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri) ...read more read less