President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that directs his administration to enforce immigration laws more aggressively.
This new order could lead to a much higher rate of deportations in the coming months. One article by Prashant Gopal for Bloomberg points out this could lead to a cool-down in home prices.
From the article:
“If Trump gets the immigration plan he wants, the housing market will get hit harder than any other,” said Alex Nowrasteh, a policy analyst for the libertarian Cato Institute. If “millions of people get deported and more people don’t come in to take their place, then you’ll have downward pressure on home prices, especially in urban areas.”
The immigrant housing market is often underappreciated, in part, because undocumented workers and the companies that cater to them sometimes like to fly below the radar.
Trump’s order announced it would not target immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, however even DACA immigrants are now struggling with the idea of homeownership.
From the article:
Even immigrants who marry U.S. citizens are losing faith. The 36-year-old Brazilian nonprofit executive, whose husband is an American, is six months away from a permanent green card, one step behind citizenship. After the travel ban and the ensuing chaos, she abandoned plans to bid on a Maryland home only a 15-minute drive from her office.
“I just don’t want to take my life savings and commit to a house because even if things go my way with the green card, what if the climate here continues to get more and more aggressive toward immigrants?” said the executive, who is working with real estate brokerage Redfin.
