As more Americans struggle to afford a home, President Donald Trump said he wants housing prices to go up rather than down.
Trump said his comments during a Jan. 29 Cabinet meeting. He made it clear that he wants it to be easier for Americans to buy a home, but not by lowering costs. He suggested that housing will become easier to buy with lower interest rates that he expects from his upcoming pick to lead the Federal Reserve. The president nominated former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh.
“I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes,” Trump said. “And they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen.”
The president’s meeting with Cabinet secretaries added that having more opportunities to buy a home shouldn’t mean lowering the costs for people who he thinks didn’t work hard for it.
“Existing housing, people that own their homes, we’re going to keep them wealthy,” Trump said. “We’re going to keep those prices up. We’re not going to destroy the value of their homes so that somebody who didn’t work very hard can buy a home.”
He continued, “I want to protect the people who, for the first time in their lives, feel good about themselves. They feel like, you know, that they’re wealthy people.”
Housing Crisis
Since his comments, some Americans are calling out the president for being out of touch with reality.
“Has the President lost his mind? ‘We’re gonna keep those prices up’—so no one can afford them? Who in God’s name is advising him that this is anything but a terrible position?” lawyer Tom Renz posted on social media.
According to USA Today, housing prices increased by 0.6% in November
over the previous month. The median home price nationally soared to a record $433,000 at the same time, and Zillow predicts housing prices to increase by 1.9% in 2026.Trump has issued several policies aimed at expanding homeownership. On January 20, Trump issued an executive order that bans institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
The president, however, opposed a plan endorsed by his White House economic team that would allow Americans to use retirement savings from their 401 (k) accounts to make down payments on homes.
“I’m not a huge fan. Other people like it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One
en route to Washington from Davos, Switzerland, where he had attended the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.“One of the reasons I don’t like it is that their 401(k)s are doing so well.”
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