Why antitrust talk may be a pressure tactic not a probe against homebuilders

"Because the Bloomberg report cites the Leading Builders of America as a potential area of concern, it is worth clearly stating what LBA is and what it is not. Founded in 2009, Leading Builders of America is a CEO-led federal policy advocacy organization representing 22 of the largest homebuilding enterprises operating in the U.S. Its membership includes both publicly traded and privately held companies that collectively account for a significant share of U.S. new-home production across first-time, move-up, luxury and active-adult segments."

"LBA's stated mission is not to coordinate markets or advocate on pricing. It is to preserve and expand housing affordability by engaging in federal and state public-policy debates that affect land costs, regulatory burden, infrastructure readiness and housing supply. As Gear shared with The Builder's Daily: It is the policy of the Leading Builders of America (LBA) to conduct its meetings and operations in strict compliance with federal and state antitrust laws. Our sole focus is on public policy matters affecting the homebuilding industry."

Reports suggested the Trump administration was exploring an antitrust probe into U.S. homebuilders, implying large builders could be treated as a concentrated market actor contributing to the housing affordability crisis. By Friday afternoon, neither public homebuilding executives nor the Leading Builders of America had been contacted by the Department of Justice. Leading Builders of America, founded in 2009, is a CEO-led federal policy advocacy organization representing 22 major U.S. homebuilding enterprises. LBA focuses on preserving and expanding housing affordability by engaging in federal and state policy debates about land costs, regulatory burden, infrastructure readiness and housing supply, and conducts operations in compliance with federal and state antitrust laws.

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