Real Estate

What Trump could do next to open up the housing market, according to famed real estate investor Grant Cardone

Grant Cardone attends Gateway Celebrity Fight Night 2024
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Grant Cardone thinks the Trump administration is gearing up to do more to stimulate the US housing market.

The longtime real estate investor says he's bullish on housing as the market enters a new year, even as home prices remain high and mortgage rates are elevated.

Cardone told Business Insider that he recently spoke with administration insiders about what he thinks can still be done to open up the market to more Americans.

President Trump has made affordability a primary focus in 2026 ahead of the midterm elections. In his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, he discussed high housing costs as well as interest rates, stating that the goal of homeownership is out of reach for many Americans.

Trump so far has focused on mortgage rates and housing availability, pitching plans to have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac load up on mortgage bonds while also banning institutional investors from buying single-family homes.

Next, Cardone thinks Trump could address issues in the tax code to make the market easier to navigate.

He predicts that the White House will adjust capital gains taxes for home sales to make it less prohibitive to sell a property that has appreciated in value.

Currently, homeowners can exclude $500,000 in capital gains for married filers or $250,000 for single filers when they sell their home. Cardone expects the caps to be raised, which would make the tax bill much less burdensome and potentially bring more homes to market.

Other commentators have flagged this as a simple fix to the market that can be done with relative ease. Mark Zandi, the top economist at Moody's Analytics, said last year that the caps should be raised to $500,000 for single filers and $1,000,000 for joint filers.

The other potential change Trump could make would allow more people to invest in real estate.

"I think he's going to come out and say, 'hey, I want to extend that bonus depreciation that was approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)," Cardone said. "He's going to extend it to single-family homes."

"Bonus depreciation" is a mechanism that allows investors to deduct the cost of a property from their taxes. The landmark tax and spending bill signed into law last year allows investors to deduct 100% of qualifying investment properties immediately.

"When I buy these big assets, I get to write them off basically in year one," Cardone explained. "And when you buy a single-family home, you write it off over 27 years, you get a tax loss spread over that period."

Cardone thinks this would be significant, as it has never been done in the US and could stimulate more housing market activity by extending buying power to those seeking income-producing properties.

While Cardone said his predictions have been informed by talks with administration insiders, a spokesperson denied that any specific policy moves were under discussion.

"President Trump pledged to put an end to Joe Biden's inflation and affordability crisis, and the Administration is constantly exploring new policy actions to do just that, "White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Business Insider. "Until policy announcements are officially made by the Administration, however, any reporting about potential action is pure speculation."

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Samuel O'Brient
Samuel O'Brient is an experienced financial markets and business journalist who has written extensively on a wide range of topics involving economics, technology and public policy. At Business Insider, he covers important macro and micro economic stories, including takes from leading economists and hedge fund managers, breaking IPOscorporate bankruptcies, meme stocks and short-selling. He also writes on other markets such as crypto, oil and real estate.He has interviewed many of the market’s most influential voices, ranging from top economists such as Mark Zandi and Richard Thaler to prominent investors including Danny Moses, Andrew Left, Anthony Scaramucci, Louis Navellier and Grant Cardone.Programs such as LiveNOW from Fox , Taking Stock and Ticker News have had Samuel on to discuss stock market and economic developments. His reporting has been cited by The New York Times DealBook, Bloomberg Radio, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Gizmodo and TheFutureParty.Samuel began at InvestorPlace, covering investing, retail trading and macro economic trends. Prior to joining Business Insider,  he served as a technology markets reporter at TheStreet. He is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Trinity College Dublin.Samuel's work has appeared in publications such as TipRanks, EV and Observer. When he isn't chasing down stories, he can often be found browsing book and record shops. To reach Samuel, email him at sobrient@insider.com or connect with him on LinkedIn. He is also on Signal as Samuel Clemens.