New leadership at federal agencies, a possible cause for some of the Los Angeles wildfires, and new HGTV shows that don’t seem very new. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the week of Feb. 3-7.
Hit: The Right Man for the Job. The best news to come out of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in years was President Trump’s appointment of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the agency’s acting director. Bessent will take the leadership role from Biden appointee Rohit Chopra, who was fired last Saturday. In a statement, Bessent said, “I look forward to working with the CFPB to advance President Trump’s agenda to lower costs for the American people and accelerate economic growth.” And we look forward to having someone in charge of the CFPB who doesn’t rush into lawsuits against financial services companies. Indeed, Bessent sent an email to the CFPB staff ordering them to stop most of the bureau’s ongoing work, including enforcement actions and decisions about active litigation, until he has a chance to review these matters.
Hit: Another Right Man for the Job. History was made this week when Scott Turner became the first Secretary of Housing and Urban Development with a private sector real estate background – he was previously chief visionary officer at JPI, an Irving, Texas-based developer, builder, and investment manager of Class A multifamily assets. Turner’s confirmation by the US Senate was a 55-44 vote with all Republicans and two Democrats – Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) – backing Turner. But Turner should not feel the overwhelming lack of Democrat backing was an insult – Democrats with few brave exceptions are now rejecting all Executive Branch appointments as part a new “resistance” movement aimed at slowing President Trump’s progress.
Miss: Who’s Been Sleeping in the Governor’s Guest Bedroom? New Jersey’s Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy created outrage and confusion this week when he initially claimed that he was housing a person “whose immigration status is not yet at the point that they are trying to get it to” at the governor’s official residence, adding, “Good luck to the feds trying to come in and get her.” However, NJ.com reported Murphy’s office admitted he was lying – the person in question is here legally and never lived at his residence. Murphy is up for re-election this year in a state that has seen a shift from blue to red in recent years, and this ridiculous gaffe is not going to endear him with New Jersey’s increasingly conservative voters who have grown tired of the chaos created by illegal immigration and so-called “sanctuary” policies by cities and states.
Miss: So, it Wasn’t Climate Change? The Los Angeles County wildfires are now contained, and investigations are underway to determine the cause of the infernos. The Wall Street Journal reported the utility Southern California Edison sent two letters to the California Public Utilities Commission acknowledging that its equipment might have been associated with the start of the Hurst fire, one of the five blazes that burned simultaneously. There also appears to be evidence that the utility’s equipment could have been involved in the Eaton fire. If an investigation into the fires’ causes prove the utility is at fault, then property owners better get lawyered up and sue the blazes out of Southern California Edison.
Hit: Doing the Right Thing. A more positive story out of the Los Angeles County wildfires involves Rick Caruso, the developer and 2022 Republican candidate for mayor, who created a foundation called Steadfast LA that will focus on rebuilding the fire-destroyed areas. The Los Angeles Times reported Caruso recruited high-profile and deep-pocketed business executives to provide input on this endeavor, stating the reconstruction effort was “way too big for the government alone.” Caruso is self-financing Steadfast LA and has pledged to work with his former political rival, Mayor Karen Bass, adding, “This has nothing to do about politics, and I will gladly have her be the hero, because this is all about the thousands and thousands of people that are displaced. If we do a great job, which I think we’re going to — we’re going to work really hard — and it helps her do a good job, and she comes out as a great mayor of the city for moving this along, I’ll be thrilled.”
Miss: Haven’t We Seen This Already? As a longtime HGTV fan, I need to turn a thumbs down to a pair of the network’s latest programming offerings. “The Flip Off” pits Christina Haack and Tarek El Moussa, the former married couple who starred from 2013 to 2022 in “Flip or Flop,” in a weekly competition involving flipped houses. And “Love It Or List It,” which began in 2008 and ran for 19 seasons, is being rebooted with designer Page Turner replacing the series’ star Hilary Farr – real estate agent David Visentin will retain his long-time role. Perhaps it is time for HGTV to consider some new shows, with new stars and new concepts? These rehashed productions are coming to the screen with a dismal sense of staleness.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at phil@wrenews.com.
Illustration by Emely Krause / Pixabay
Why is it a good idea to destroy a well thought out agency that protects consumers? Why destroy the Middle Class further than it already has been? Who will be able to afford homes, furniture, food, raising a family if a few have all of the money?