Housing Market

President Trump has repeatedly promised to "make America affordable again." But for those Americans most in need, his administration's latest budget plan would dramatically shrink the federal rental aid that helps keep millions of people housed.

The U.S. government has announced a new plan to build affordable housing on federal land across the country, promising to bring to life one of several ideas Donald Trump floated as a solution to the ongoing housing affordability crisis during his presidential campaign.

Housing was top of mind for many voters ahead of the 2024 race for the White House, after years of skyrocketing home prices, historically high mortgage rates and a chronic lack of inventory squeezed millions of aspiring homebuyers out of the market.

Home sales in March declined by the most since 2022 as stubbornly high mortgage rates and house prices kept buyers on the sidelines.

Higher mortgage rates and concern over the broader economy are making for a weak start to the all-important spring housing market.

President Trump returned to the White House with pledges to address the housing shortage and affordability crisis. But his moves to crack down on trade policy, immigration and the size of the federal government threaten to compound the strain on homeowners he has vowed to ease.

Donald Trump's recently unveiled tariff plans have sparked a stock market meltdown and stoked fears of a looming recession, which experts said would further slow down an already "comatose" U.S. housing market.

On March 10, the S&P 500 share index fell nearly 3 percent after a tumultuous week during which Trump first announced sweeping 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and then paused them for a month for most products coming from the two countries. On the same day, the Nasdaq share index dropped by an even worse 4 percent.

The Trump administration is halting a $1 billion program that helps preserve affordable housing, threatening projects that keep tens of thousands of units livable for low-income Americans, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

The action is part of a slew of cuts and funding freezes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, largely at the direction of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, that have rattled the affordable-housing industry.

According to data from the U.S. Census, in 2024, states with Republican governors issued 4.66 permits for housing units per 1,000 residents, while the same statistic for states with Democratic governors was at 3.60. AllSides highlights content from Gigafact, a network of newsrooms that respond to online claims. View the full fact brief on Econofact.

The Biden administration released a new report Friday showing that homelessness in America increased by 18% in 2024, partially attributing the spike to the huge influx of immigrants settling in the country.

The nation’s homelessness problem worsened again this year.

A record estimate of 771,480 people were homeless in the U.S. in 2024, an 18% increase from a year earlier, fueled by factors including an influx of migrant families, a lack of affordable housing and natural disasters, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development....