What Trump’s national housing emergency would mean for new homebuyers
Will President Donald Trump attempt to remedy the housing crisis with a plan of attack? It’s beginning to look that way.
On Sept. 1, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the Trump administration is mulling the declaration of a national housing emergency to address high housing prices and limited inventory.
What it means: While details are still vague, any decrease in the purchase cost of a new home is welcome news. However, there are many hurdles to clear. The housing crisis has been a massive issue for several years and it won’t be resolved quickly.
What’s on the table:
The Trump administration is evaluating scenarios that would lower local zoning and building codes.
Officials are also seeking to reduce closing costs for homebuyers.
Cuts made by the Federal Reserve will bring down housing prices.
Ali Wolf, chief economist of NewHomeSource, a new home listing site with customer reviews, said that the government’s spotlight on the need for more housing is a good thing, but she remains unsure on their level of effective assistance.
“It is positive to see the national government focusing on housing affordability,” Wolf said. “We know that many people are frustrated with the cost of housing and increasingly believe that the American Dream is out of reach.
“The core issue: there’s not much the federal government can do to help. A lot of housing issues are local, whether it’s “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY) residents stopping new construction, cities creating prohibitive laws, or high local land prices making it difficult to achieve an attainable home price.”
The bottom line: Some relief may be coming, but we aren’t sure when it might occur. There are many factors that need to be resolved before lowered prices can begin, and several problems may be out of the hands of the national government. New homebuyers should temper their expectations in the meantime, because the housing crisis isn’t something that can be easily untangled by the Trump administration in the short-term.
This story was produced by NewHomeSource and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.