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White House plots solutions for housing affordability problem

April 16, 2026 | | Print Article

The nation’s housing affordability crisis was addressed in a new White House report that laid out some solutions to help handle the issue.

President Donald Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers released the analysis that focused this year on 14 topics related to the administration’s policy priorities, including “Protecting and Rebuilding the American Dream of Homeownership.”

The report blamed the “national housing affordability crunch” on the Biden administration’s policies that pushed home ownership out of the reach of many Americans. As solutions, the report noted that slashing regulations and red tape, as well as increasing the supply of housing, would tackle the current challenges.

“Not only does the bureaucrat tax add over $100,000 to the cost of a home; it also acts as a barrier to homes being built,” the report indicated.

“Under the Trump Administration, the Federal government has taken great steps to reduce the burden on homebuilders imposed by Federal regulations. Reform at the State and local levels to tackle the sources of the six-figure bureaucrat tax would greatly enhance the ability of supply to keep up with stronger demand,” the report noted.

“If homebuilding and the growth of the single-family housing stock had continued at their historical pace instead of falling dramatically after 2008, there would be 10 million or more additional single-family homes today,” it continued. “Census New Residential Sales data reveal that the share of new homes available for under $300,000 fell from a little shy of 1-in-2 in 2019 to 1-in-6 in 2024.”

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Trump’s immigration policies have had an impact on the housing issue as well.

“The Trump Administration is also committed to addressing drivers of housing demand that compete with American families. First and foremost, President Trump has secured the U.S. border and has reversed the open borders policy of the Biden Administration that led to waves of illegal immigrants bidding up rents and house prices,” the report noted. “In addition, President Trump issued an Executive Order to ban institutional investors from buying up any additional single-family homes that could otherwise go to an American homeowner and called upon Congress to codify the policy in legislation.”

“The Trump Administration has shifted economic policy decisively away from the Biden Administration’s approach of government-driven demand and government-impaired supply to a new posture of private-sector-driven demand and healthy supply unleashed by deregulation, pro-growth tax relief, and America First trade,” the 35-page portion of the report stated.

“By expanding economic potential, these policies have enabled the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds to fall by half a percent, putting downward pressure on mortgage rates. President Trump also instituted a plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion worth of mortgage bonds to further reduce mortgage rates. In total, mortgage rates are now nearly a full percentage point down from their January 2025 level, which promises substantial savings for the American people absent further rapid house price appreciation.”

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Members of the Council of Economic Advisers are appointed by the president, and the chairman is confirmed by the Senate.

Frieda Powers
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