President Trump is reportedly preparing to declare a national housing emergency this fall—the first such declaration since the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2008. Why? A market paralyzed by dwindling housing supply and affordability concerns (home prices climbing faster than paychecks, limited housing inventory, and interest rates).
Where is the housing stock? A lot of it is locked up with Baby Boomers. According to Freddie Mac, when Boomers eventually release their grip on homeownership, they’ll serve up roughly 14 million empty homes over the next decade. But until then, inventory is painfully scarce.
This summer underscored the problem. It was the slowest market in 10 years. Realtor.com economist Jake Krimmel even titled his latest report, “Cruel Summer: Why the US Housing Market Is Stuck.” Meanwhile, building permits have slipped to their lowest level since 2020—the latest in a string of declines this year. Builders are squeezed by high borrowing costs, buyers are sidelined by mortgage rates, and the result is what many are calling a frozen housing market.
So what would an emergency declaration actually do? The administration has floated ideas like standardizing zoning and building codes, simplifying permitting, lowering closing costs, and even tariff relief on certain construction materials. Declaring an emergency matters because it unlocks broader executive powers—in theory, allowing Washington to cut through red tape that’s historically left to state and local governments.
Will it work? That depends.
- Best-case scenario: supply increases, closing costs drop, affordability improves, and the logjam finally breaks.
- Worst-case scenario: local resistance stalls reforms, legal battles pile up, and buyers are left waiting for a fixt hat never materializes.
At the end of the day, if homeownership feels like a dream slipping away, the White House may be ready to call that what it is: a crisis.
*cover photo courtesy of Whitehouse.gov*
