Trump to housing group: Housing industry is too regulated

In a speech to the National Association of Home Builders’ board of directors, presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would slash regulations on the industry if elected

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, speaking to the National Association of Home Builders’ board of directors Thursday, said regulations are strangling both the housing industry and the broader economic recovery.

“No one other than the energy industry is regulated more than the home building industry,” Trump said. “Twenty-five percent o the cost of a home is due to regulation. I think we should get that down to about 2%.”

Trump said that as president, he would call for a temporary moratorium on new agency regulations and cancel “all illegal and overreaching executive orders signed by President Obama.”

“We will remove the bureaucrats that only know how to kill jobs and replace them with experts who know how to create jobs without regulations,” Trump said.

Trump also said he would push a tax simplification plan that would ensure small businesses would be taxed at no more than 15%.

Trump, whose father was a home builder, said he had deep affection for the industry, according to an NAHB news release.

“A home builder taught me everything I know,” Trump said. “There’s no greater thing you can do. If you can build a home, you can build anything.”

Trump spoke to the NAHB board the day after Hillary Clinton’s top economic advisor, Gene Sperling, addressed the group.

“We are very honored to have these national leaders address our members,” NAHB Chairman Ed Brady said. “Their presence at our board meeting conveys the important role that the nation’s housing industry will play in the coming elections and reaffirms that housing must remain a national priority.”