Last night’s State of the Union address left Americans and real estate industry experts disappointed, hoping that President Trump would offer some encouragement or solutions regarding affordable housing in the United States.
During his one-hour, 47-minute speech, the longest in modern American history, the president primarily focused on his priorities of crime, immigration and the economy, while also trying to paint the Democratic Party as anti-American.
When President Trump addressed real estate issues like housing and mortgage rates, he framed these topics as his victories in getting the economy back on track, with little acknowledgment that many Americans still struggle with affordability.
what the president said
President Trump mentioned housing and mortgage rates only once in his comments about how his administration has brought down core inflation over the past year.
“Mortgage rates are at a four-year low and are falling rapidly, and the annual cost of a typical new home loan has fallen by nearly $5,000 since I took office, in one year,” President Trump said.
“And while low interest rates will solve the housing problem that Mr. Biden created, they will also protect the values of people who already own a home and feel truly wealthy for the first time in their lives. We want to protect those values, and we want to preserve those values. We’re going to do both. And we’re going to preserve them.”
These comments echo what the president said at a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, in which he advocated keeping home prices rising so Americans can grow wealth through real estate, while working to lower borrowing costs to make homeownership more accessible.
President Trump also mentioned in Tuesday’s speech a ban on institutional investors buying single-family homes, an initiative he announced at Truth Social earlier this year. The president cited a Houston-based mother in the audience as an example of her struggle trying to outbid a major investment firm this year to buy a home for her family.
“She made bids on 20 homes, and all of those bids were lost to giant investment companies who avoided inspections,” Trump said. “They paid for it all in cash, turned those homes into rentals, and robbed her of her American dream. She was devastated. Stories like this led me last month to sign an executive order banning large Wall Street investment firms from buying up thousands of single-family homes.”
“And now I’m asking Congress to make that ban permanent, because homes for people, that’s what we really want,” the president continued. “We want homes for people, not businesses. Businesses are doing well, but…”
Industry reaction
The National Association of Realtors responded to the President’s speech last night by thanking the Administration and Congress for their efforts to address housing affordability and supply issues. The association emphasized the need to unlock more inventory and called on the Senate to pass the 21st Century Housing Act, a bill that aims to improve housing affordability through zoning, financing and regulatory overhauls.
“Freeing up existing inventory, streamlining regulatory barriers, encouraging new construction, and supporting responsible development are all essential elements in addressing housing affordability,” NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn said in a statement. “This includes reforming outdated capital gains standards that have not been updated in decades and are discouraging long-time homeowners from selling, reducing mobility and limiting the number of homes available to new buyers.
Shannon McGahn
“NAR encourages the Senate to consider the 21st Century Housing Act, which was recently passed by the House of Representatives. This bill is a bipartisan measure aimed at reducing barriers to housing production and improving home affordability across the country. We will continue to work together across party lines to focus on practical, evidence-based solutions. Lawmakers can help ensure the promise of homeownership is achieved for current and future generations of Americans.”
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) also expressed appreciation for the administration’s focus on the economy, including issues of affordability, in a statement released Tuesday. Industry groups urged the president to continue implementing policies that support builders and contractors to advance housing and infrastructure goals.
“While resilient, the construction industry faces headwinds including high costs, tariff uncertainty and chronic labor shortages,” ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman said in a statement. “As these concerns grow, the president should remember that this industry is key to delivering on his promise to lower the cost of housing, infrastructure, and energy for American families. ABC urges the president to create the conditions for contractors to thrive with pro-growth policies so he can deliver on his promise of affordability to Americans.”
“Looking to the future, ABC encourages continued action on policies important to the future of our industry’s workforce, including advancing a new market-based worker visa program that supports American workers, strengthens national security and taxpayer protection, and helps communities build what we need,” added Bellaman. “This new program ties construction worker visas to documented demand rather than arbitrary numerical caps, an approach that reflects economic reality and provides stability for workers, employers, and communities…”
The National Apartment Association and the National Multifamily Housing Council also responded to the president’s speech, emphasizing the importance of working to solve the housing affordability crisis and encouraging the White House to support a bipartisan housing package, including the ROAD to Housing Act and the 21st Century Housing Act.
What the Democrats had to say
In a Democratic response to the State of the Union, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger criticized President Trump’s policies on immigration and affordability. The governor accused the president of overusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens, Alex Preti and Renee Good, have been killed in clashes between federal agents and protesters in recent weeks.
Spanberger similarly criticized the president’s tariff policies, saying they are hurting the economy and everyday life in the United States. The governor cited a Democratic report from the Joint Economic Committee that found more than $1,700 in additional spending was being passed on to American households as a result of the tariffs.
“Small businesses are hurting. Farmers are hurting, some are losing entire markets,” Spanberger said. “Every day, Americans pay the price. And even though the Supreme Court struck down these tariffs four days ago, the harm to us Americans is already being done.”
Sen. Alex Padilla of California made a similar point in response to the president’s speech in Spanish.
“The truth is, I don’t feel like the State of the Union is strong for everyone,” Padilla said in Spanish. “Not when rent, food, and utility costs continue to rise. Not when Republicans are raising health care costs to fund tax cuts for billionaires. And certainly not when armed and masked federal agents are terrorizing communities by targeting people, including immigrants and citizens with legal status, because of the color of their skin or because they speak Spanish.”
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