FHA nominee Matt Jones says he’ll target more housing supply and lower costs

Matt Jones, President Donald Trump’s nominee to hold the dual role of assistant secretary for the Department Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), told senators he would focus on increased housing supply, lower costs and expanded access to homeownership. Jones, who previously worked as senior counsel for the Senate’s banking and finance committee and now serves as HUD’s deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing, appeared before the same committee for a confirmation hearing on Thursday morning. In his opening statement, he described housing affordability as a defining challenge and said FHA-insured loans help more than 3,000 families buy homes each business day — most of them first-time buyers. In his testimony, Jones added that FHA had streamlined more than 150 program requirements, which he said reduced costs for consumers. He also pointed to manufactured housing as a way to increase supply, noting that HUD had showcased its first two-story manufactured home and described non-site-built housing as an opportunity to reduce construction costs and expand options for homebuyers. “Paired with the implementation of t...