Housing costs are crippling many Americans. Here’s how the two parties propose to fix that

WASHINGTON— Donald Trump’s promises on affordability in 2024 helped propel him to a second term in the White House.

Trump has since said the problem has been solved: He now says affordability is a hoax by Democrats. However, high costs of living, especially housing, continue to place a heavy burden on voters and reduce the president’s approval ratings.

One survey conducted this month According to research conducted by the New York Times and the University of Siena, 58 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved of the president’s management of the economy.

How the economy fares in the coming months will play a big role in determining whether Democrats can build on their electoral success in 2025 and gain control of one or both houses of Congress.

With home prices so central to voters’ perceptions of the economy, both parties have put forward proposals targeting affordability in recent weeks. Let’s take a closer look at rival plans to expand housing and rein in costs:

How bad is the economic crisis?

According to the Federal Reserve, wages across the country have barely increased over the past decade; It increased by 21.24% between 2014 and 2024. According to the Fed, rent and home sales prices more than doubled during the same period, while healthcare and grocery costs rose 71.5% and 37.35%, respectively.

National house price-to-income ratios all time high, Coastal states such as California and Hawaii are extreme examples of this.

Housing costs in California are nearly twice the national average, according to the State Legislative Analyst’s Office. “historically fast rates” In recent years. The average California home sold for $877,285 in 2024, according to the California Assn. Real estate agents’ rate compares with about $420,000 nationwide Federal Reserve economic data.

California needs to add 180,000 homes a year to keep up with demand, according to the state Department of Housing. California has so far fallen short of these goals and is just beginning to see success in reducing its homeless population. 116,000 people without shelter In 2025.

What do the polls say?

More than two-thirds of Americans surveyed Gallup poll They said they felt the economy was worsening last month, and 36 percent expressed approval of the president; this is the lowest figure since the start of his second term.

The survey found that 47 percent of U.S. adults describe current economic conditions as “bad”; that was up 40 percent from just a month ago and the highest level since Trump took office. Just 21 percent said economic conditions were “excellent” or “good,” while 31 percent described them as “just fair.”

Associated Press questionnaire It found that only 16 percent of Republicans think Trump has been “very” helpful in solving cost-of-living issues.

What did the Democrats propose?

The party is taking measures to expand housing supply and reducing “restrictive” single-family zoning in favor of denser development.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) said Democrats plan to “overload” construction through bills like the Housing BOOM Act, which California Senator Adam Schiff introduced in December.

Schiff said the bill would lower prices by encouraging the development of “millions of affordable homes.” The proposal would expand low-income housing tax credits, set aside funds for rental assistance and homelessness, and provide $10 billion in housing subsidies for “middle-income” workers such as teachers, police officers and firefighters.

The measure has not yet been considered in committee and has long faced disagreements in the Republican-controlled body, but Schiff has said inaction on the proposal could be used against opponents.

What about Republicans?

This month, a group of 190 House Republicans announced his successor offer It was added to the “Big Beautiful Bill,” the sprawling tax and spending plan approved and signed by Trump in July.

The Republican Study Committee described the proposal as an affordability package aimed at lowering down payments, enacting mortgage reforms and creating more tax breaks.

The group’s leaders said the legislation would reduce the budget deficit by $1 trillion and could pass with a simple majority.

“This plan … locks in President Trump’s deregulatory agenda through reconciliation, the one process Democrats cannot block,” said Rep. August Pfluger (R-Tex.), who chairs the group. “We have an 11-month guaranteed majority. We don’t waste a single day.”

Although the proposal has not yet been introduced as legislation, Republicans have said it would include a mechanism to cancel funding from blue states on rent control and immigration policy, which they calculate would save $48 billion.

President Trump has approved a $200 billion mortgage bond incentive that he says will lower mortgage interest rates and monthly payments. And the White House, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two organizations that back most U.S. mortgages, continues to push the idea of ​​portable and assumable mortgages.

Trump said the move would allow buyers to keep their existing mortgage interest or new homeowners to take on previous homeowners’ mortgages.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over the Fed’s replacement costs. Trump criticized him for his “never-ending quest to keep interest rates high.”

The president has also vowed to cancel federal funding to states on many issues, including child care and immigration policy.

“This is not about any policy that they think is harmful,” said Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank). “This is about Trump always trying to find a way to punish blue states.”

Is there any harmony?

The two parties are collaborating on complementary measures in the House and Senate.

bipartisan THE ROAD TO THE HOUSING LAW It aims to expand housing supply by easing regulatory hurdles. It passed the Senate unanimously and received support from the White House, but Republicans opposed it and it has yet to receive a vote.

A bipartisan proposal – Housing Law in the 21st Century – Approved by the House Financial Services Committee in December on a 50-1 vote. He also hasn’t received a floor vote yet.

The bill is similar to its Senate twin; Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) is running across the aisle with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles). If approved, it would shorten permitting periods, support manufactured housing development, and expand financing tools for low-income housing developers.

Also, a moment like this happened recently: unusual alignment between the president and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who have both vowed to crack down on corporate homebuying.

What do the experts say?

Housing experts opposed the GOP’s proposal to ban housing dollars from sanctuaries and cities that impose rent control.

“Any condition on HUD funding that sets rules that explicitly shape blue cities will be truly disastrous for California’s larger urban areas,” said David Garcia, deputy policy director at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

More than 35 cities in California have rent control policies, according to the California Apartment Assn. The state passed its own rent-stabilization law in 2019, and lawmakers passed the California sanctuary law in 2017 that prohibits state resources from assisting federal immigration enforcement.

The agenda follows a series of HUD spending cuts, including a 30% cap on permanent housing investments and an end to the federal emergency housing voucher program local homelessness officials estimate 14,500 people will take to the streets.

In Los Angeles County, HUD dollars make up about 28% of homelessness funding.

“This would undermine many of the bipartisan efforts in the House and Senate to implement evidence-based policy to increase housing supply and stabilize rents and home prices,” Garcia said.

The president’s mortgage directives have also raised skepticism from some experts.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were under pressure to get back into risky parts of the mortgage market during the housing bubble, and that was part of the problem,” said Eric McGhee, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California.