Justice Department may open homebuilder antitrust probe, Bloomberg says

The Trump administration is exploring opening an antitrust investigation into homebuilders, Patrick Clark and Leah Nylen of Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the discussions. The Department of Justice could open the probe in the coming weeks, with a potential focus on how information is shared through the Leading Builders of America trade group, sources told Bloomberg. The White House has grown concerned that the trade group could be used to restrict housing supply or coordinate pricing, the people added. Lennar and DR Horton are members of the group, Bloomberg notes. Publicly traded companies in the homebuilder space include Beazer Homes (BZH), D.R. Horton (DHI), Hovnanian (HOV), KB Home (KBH), Lennar (LEN), M.D.C. Holdings (MDC), PulteGroup (PHM) and Toll Brothers (TOL).