White House considers antitrust probe into homebuilders, Bloomberg News reports

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Trump ⁠administration officials ⁠are ‍exploring opening an antitrust investigation into U.S. homebuilders as the White House ramps up ‍efforts to address the housing affordability crisis in ​the country, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

A White House representative ​referred Reuters request for comment to the Department of Justice. The DOJ did not immediately respond to the request.

One of ​the possible concerns is the exchange of information through a homebuilder's association called Leading Builders of ​America, which could be used to limit housing supply or coordinate ‌pricing, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg News.

Homebuilders D.R. Horton, Lennar, PulteGroup, and Toll ​Brothers, who are some of ⁠the key members of the association, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests ‌for comment. The Leading Builders of America also did not immediately respond to Reuters request.

The Department of Justice ‌could launch the inquiry in the next few weeks, though ‌no final decision has been made, the people said, according to the report.

The reported move comes days after a report ‍of U.S. homebuilders working on a proposal to develop nearly a million "Trump Homes", ⁠at a time when U.S. consumers continue to face affordability challenges in an inflationary macro environment, dampening home sales across the country.

(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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