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Housing affordability has become one of the most pressing issues in America — and the Trump administration is weighing extraordinary measures to address it, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“We may declare a national housing emergency in the fall,” Bessent told the Washington Examiner in a recent interview [1].
He noted that interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve could help ease post-pandemic housing prices, but stressed that the administration is also exploring its own options to lower expenses and boost supply. While Bessent stopped short of outlining specific steps, he said officials are studying ways to standardize local building and zoning codes, reduce closing costs and may even consider tariff exemptions on certain construction materials.
“We’re trying to figure out what we can do and we don’t want to step into the business of states, counties and municipal governments,” Bessent said. “I think everything is on the table.”
The fact that the White House is even weighing a national emergency underscores the severity of the crisis. Zillow estimates the country faces a shortage of 4.7 million homes [2] — a gap that has kept prices stubbornly high. Paired with elevated interest rates, the lack of supply has made homeownership increasingly out of reach.
Realtor.com calculates that a typical household would need to earn $118,530 annually to afford a median-priced home of $402,500 — more than 52% above today’s median household income of roughly $77,700.
Not everyone, however, is convinced that Trump’s team will ease the crunch.
“Unfortunately, everything Trump is doing that affects housing availability will make the emergency worse,” Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman wrote in a blog post [4], pointing out that Trump has already declared nine national emergencies despite being in office for less than eight months.
“As far as I can tell, so far all of Trump’s claims about emergency have been false excuses for power grabs,” Krugman added.
Still, Krugman conceded that Bessent is right on one point: “We do, in fact, have a housing emergency,” and “the popular perception that housing has become unaffordable is grounded in reality.”
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Read more: Rich, young Americans are ditching stocks — here are the alternative assets they’re banking on instead
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[1]. Washington Examiner. “Bessent predicts ‘big economic pickup in 2026’ and possible national housing emergency declaration this fall”
[2]. Zillow. “The National Housing Deficit Grew by 159,000 Homes in 2023, Reaching 4.7 Million”
[3]. Realtor. “How Much You Need To Earn in Every State To Buy a Home”
[4]. PaulKrugman.Substack.com. “Yes, America Has a Housing Emergency”
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