A Builder Insider in a GSE Power Seat

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte has moved to bring one of homebuilding’s own into the inner sanctum of U.S. housing finance.

On Oct. 7, Brandon Hamara, a former vice president for land strategy at Tri Pointe Homes, was appointed to the Fannie Mae board of directors and named Senior Vice President and Head of Operations for Single-Family and Multifamily. The dual role represents a significant insertion of builder-side operational expertise into Fannie Mae.

I just had a board meeting this afternoon,” Pulte told The Builder’s Daily in an exclusive interview. “[Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] are two Fortune 50 companies … and it’s absolutely critical that we get somebody with home building expertise in there. Year to date, we’ve done over $30 billion just with the top home builders. There’s a great opportunity for the builders, but they’re going to have to do the right thing for the American people here and get building again.”

The SEC 8-K filing shows Hamara’s role becomes effective in November, with a $1.9 million total annual compensation package. He joins Scott Stowell, former CalAtlantic CEO, on the Fannie Mae board. Together with Pulte himself as chair, the board now has its deepest-ever bench of homebuilding veterans.

Why It Matters for Builders

For an industry currently in limbo — public builders slimming their land pipelines, private builders squeezed by debt covenants, and nearly every company discounting standing inventory — the Hamara move is both operational and symbolic.

It signals a shift: Washington expects builders to turn land into homes, and GSE liquidity is the leverage.

Pulte was blunt about builders’ oft-repeated complaints that local zoning and permitting slow production:

They have a lot of lots that they already have entitled. Blaming the local ordinances … is not a solution. What is the solution is saying, 'How can we work with the federal government and Fannie and Freddie on initiatives … to get that land into production?'”

Homebuilders, he warned, cannot continue to post high margins while housing affordability collapses across the nation.

We’ve been in a good market where people made a lot of money and gross margins have been high, but the American people are hurting. They can’t afford a home after these last four years. We got to fix that.”

The Lennar Example

Pulte held up one national builder as a prime example.

Look at Lennar … they lowered their margins, and they’re still making quite a bit of money. They’ve been working through their inventory very hard. They’re going to be flat, year over year. Lennar is a good example of somebody taking the inventory situation seriously.”

That framing — profits tempered by volume discipline — may foreshadow how FHFA and the GSEs will measure whether builders are “doing the right thing.”

Incentivizing the Right Things, Disincentivizing the Wrong

What does that mean in practice?

Pulte didn’t spell it out, but he made clear the old “blank checkbook” era is over.

They’ve never even looked at these builder statistics … how do we incentivize the right things and disincentivize the wrong things? It’s just been a blank checkbook … We’ll see. We’re still evaluating the specific measures.”

One hint: FHFA has begun reviewing builder pricing, liquidity flows, and even potential mortgage fraud risk data tied to loans Fannie and Freddie purchase. That review, Pulte said, will shape how the GSEs engage individual builders.

Safety, Soundness, and the Land Question

Pulte’s core message is that builders’ land strategy isn’t just a corporate matter—it’s a systemic risk issue.

“In 2008 … builders did not properly mark their land. They just let it sit on their books. There’s a tremendous opportunity here to not only build more homes … but also ensure that the land inventory that is on people’s books is being accurately reflected. That lot inventory really needs to be properly utilized.”

For public and private builders alike, this means regulators are once again scrutinizing balance-sheet land as a policy lever.

Brandon Hamara’s Role

Why Hamara? Pulte calls it an alignment of expertise and timing.

We provide so much liquidity, and given what we do for the builders … it’s critical we have someone who understands builder operations. Brandon brings that to Fannie.”

As Senior VP of Operations, Hamara will oversee both the single-family and multifamily lines—a unique role that positions him as a bridge between builder operations and GSE capital channels.

Combined with Stowell’s board role, Fannie Mae now has two seasoned builder executives at the table. That reshapes the conversation inside the GSE around land, lots, and production in ways that could have immediate implications for builder strategies.

Trump’s Mandate, Market Skepticism

The move comes as President Trump has put big builders directly in his crosshairs. On Truth Social he accused them of “sitting on 2 million empty lots” and vowed that Fannie and Freddie would “get big homebuilders going.”

FHFA Director Pulte amplified the call, saying Fannie and Freddie “provide enormous liquidity to the big builders. Big builders need to get building again.”

But, as Bloomberg’s Katy O’Donnell reports, analysts and industry groups are skeptical. Many of the so-called “2 million lots” are not buildable—lacking sewers, infrastructure, or permits. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Bose George called the idea that GSEs could spur construction “a little bit of a mystery,” noting that FHA already provides tools for builder financing.

NAHB CEO Jim Tobin added that half of U.S. housing supply comes from smaller builders without Wall Street access:

What are the policies we can put in place to help the other thousands of builders out there who contribute 50% of the housing in the country?”

That tension—between Trump’s directive, Pulte’s operational push, and builders’ on-the-ground constraints—sets the stage for what comes next.

Collaboration, With Strings Attached

Pulte emphasized collaboration in every turn of the conversation.

We look forward to working collaboratively with the builders … to get the production numbers up and get this country building again.”

Already, he confirmed, FHFA has begun one-on-one meetings with builders, conducting a full-scale review of pricing, liquidity, and practices.

The implicit message: Builders who cooperate and show willingness to put land into production will find support. Builders who don’t may face disincentives.

What Builder Leaders Need to Watch

For homebuilding CEOs, COOs, and land strategists, here are the key takeaways:

• Liquidity leverage: Fannie and Freddie intend to tie their capital support more explicitly to production outcomes.
• Operational scrutiny: Balance-sheet land holdings, margin management, and pricing strategies are now under the GSE microscope.
• New interlocutors: Brandon Hamara and Scott Stowell give builders a direct line into Fannie Mae leadership—but also increase accountability.
• Political backdrop: Trump’s second-term housing push is real, but its mechanics remain unclear, and its costs (tariffs, labor policies) could cut against production.
• Collaboration imperative: Builders will be expected to sit at the table, disclose data, and align with federal objectives—whether or not they agree on the methods.

The Bottom Line

Bill Pulte calls himself “a builder guy” now, running Fannie and Freddie Mac. By elevating Brandon Hamara to an operational GSE role, he is fulfilling his promise to bring builder expertise into federal housing finance.

Whether that results in more homes, more affordable pricing, or merely more pressure on builders’ balance sheets remains to be seen.

But for the first time since the 2008 crisis, builders’ land strategies are explicitly linked to national housing finance policy. That should put every executive’s attention on what Pulte is really saying:

We want to work collaboratively … but we expect everybody to step up for the American people.”