Given President Trump’s pledge to conquer America’s housing crisis, and the plan he just grandiosely delivered to do it, you’d think he’d soon hatch a new credo to spotlight the campaign—something like MAHAA, for “Make America’s Homes Affordable Again.” Indeed, the biggest part of the overall “affordability” problem that’s so crucial to voters, and increasingly dominates the debate among politicians—led by Trump himself—is the explosion in the cost of housing. The rise in what families need to pay for the staple of staples that they strive to own over all others has, since just before the pandemic’s onset, far outstripped the sticker shock on the likes of groceries, cars, insurance, or any other key item. Put simply, America’s biggest household expense has grown so enormous that most first-time buyers don’t have the means to take it on.
The tens of millions of renters in the wings know the math all too well. The two factors that determine the ability to buy, home prices and mortgage rates, have both moved in the wrong direction big-time, and shockingly fast. According to the American Enterprise Institute, average prices have risen over 150% since the start of 2019, and home loan rates posted at Mortgage News Daily have ballooned by two-thirds, from roughly 3.7% to today’s 6.2%. That dire twofer, the National Association of Home Builders reckons, has made home ownership an aspiration that’s beyond the grasp for three in four U.S. households.
