The National Association of Realtors issued a statement of support for President Trump’s Executive Order titled “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis,” which addresses issues of housing affordability and the challenges of a low housing supply.
“The National Association of Realtors applauds President Trump for bringing attention to the dire need to address the urgent and ongoing challenges surrounding housing affordability and supply,” said NAR Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn. “Our team has communicated these issues to the President’s team, highlighting that the lack of supply is the number one driver of housing cost and, in turn, is hurting the housing market and shutting out first-time buyers. Also, in our discussions, we encouraged the Administration to focus on property rights, inventory, affordability, and accessibility to housing, which would help stimulate the economy and give more Americans the ability to build generational wealth.
“The President’s Executive Order underscores the critical need for bold, coordinated action to lower housing costs and increase the availability of homes for families across this country,” McGahn added. “NAR has long advocated for policies encouraging housing development, improving affordability, and supporting sustainable homeownership opportunities. We look forward to working with the Administration in the next steps and putting this executive order into motion.”
Photo courtesy of The White House
I guess your earlier message was heard!
Yes, I’m glad they finally announced their support.
NAR already did its damage by not doing its job to defend its members! NAR can go to Hell!!!!
I have lost faith in NAR after they settled on the lawsuit. I don’t see this happening realistically.
Me too. Let’s work on getting our buyer broker and listing agreements back to where they used to be. Useful and money making. This way sucks.
I think it’s crazy that we give NAR so much power. Is there a way to sell without them?
That is a good question. Who can list three (or any number) of essential tasks that NAR actually performs, in the course of a year, that we (active licensed agents) would have to do ourselves or purchase from another source, in order to arrange/broker/manage sales of real property, for other people? I can’t answer my question, Can anyone else?
Yes we dont have to belong to NAR. You dont have to join a MLS that is the reason we have to be a member of NAR because of our MLS. Power of the People.. we can just list directly through Realtor.com as brokers buyers shop that way anyway by pass MLS and list directly your property with other platforms. Lets send a message to NAR
Stimulate the economy? Will someone please read them an economics book?
And I heard he’s resuming infrastructure week again. 😂
60% of all mortgages are held with interest rates of 3% or less. No one moves anymore. Folks are living in their mortgages, despite how the house may not work. With this factoid, we need more housing and it needs to be affordable housing.
Trump is the one who put the cap on mortgage interest deductions And that needs to be removed right away.
My guess is the majority of immigrants are in rental properties. Given that you hear so many them working as dishwashers and agricultural workers, I highly doubt there’s a huge percentage who own housing. So his round-up is going to affect landlords. Are they going to sell their housing or are they going to reduce rents if it’s in the numbers, he said. That will be interesting to watch.
Also, of interest to watch will be the cost of products once all these people leave. Employers will be searching for American workers who won’t work for measly pay. Without a minimum wage, this should be interesting to watch.
I’m waiting for the advent of Hoovervilles (interesting read is the 1939 Hawley Smoot Tariff Act) which doomed the country then. With his proposed tariffs to Canada, Mexico and China, housing items like Canadian lumber is going to be taxed by Canada to the US consumer along with 30 other products. That should drive us back into another recession.
Meanwhile, NAR keep your house clean and your zipper zipped up.
Bravo!!
I concur! Between the interest rates and no cap on taxes, people won’t/can’t sell/buy. People don’t understand tariffs or how they work. If/when these tariffs kick in that is just another cost the American people have to burden and that will move them even further from home ownership. We need real solutions, real support and real leadership (in all ways).
We need rates at 5% to get existing homes on the market…
The Lawyers are at fault for everything. Poor representing for NAR, High interest rates, High Insurance premiums. Just listen to them advertise for business on television every day.
If Trump wants to slap 25% tariffs on Canadian lumber then we can kiss affordable new construction goodby. Builders will need to pass the additional cost to the consumer.
Not to mention shipping out half of the labor force. Who’s going to rebuild LA much less build new homes?
we need him to address the insurance crisis in Florida and I’m sure now California because a lot of people have stopped buying here in Florida due to the high cost of insurance and the companies fleeing
👍👍
We should be using our own lumber
All sounds good but how specifically is the Trump Administration going to accomplish these admirable goals to make housing more affordable??
Exactly. The only solution is to raise wages (which stopped 15 years ago) so that people can afford to buy a home. Interest rates were double this when I got my license in 88 but we still had a robust housing market. Unfortunately this won’t happen because it would take money from those at the top whose goal is to keep us all poor so they can control us.
I have read the order several times. After suffering through the insulting and puerile first paragraphs I fail to see anything actionable or capable of being actionable in the last paragraph. I look forward to a deep dive analysis in Orlando.
Just another word salad from Trump to sound like he cares but offers no actual actionable plan, just like his “affordable” health insurance campaign promise where again there is no real plan just (as he said publicly) just a “concept”. This isnt really to help people afford homes, its to placate his ignorant base while benefiting his wealthy real estate developer doners as always…. who will overprice them anyway once built and blame tariffs and lack of labor, again thanks to Trumps policies.
Rick well stated!
Truth be told
“Ignorant Base” The cabinet he has appointed looks to be much more informed than the Biden- Harris administration. Let’s keep politics out and concentrate on solutions. If you have a solution, please voice it.
You voted for this, live with the consequences. We told you this would happen.
Hahaha….really, Carolyn? He has done more in a week than Biden did in 4 years. Give the politics a rest. Let’s see what happens before you criticize. And let’s talk about insurance for CA and FL. Is it fair that these folks enjoy nicer weather, beaches, and all these climates have to offer at the price of government-subsidized insurance paid for by the rest of the country? All the people who don’t get to enjoy these benefits? Sorry, but not sorry. I don’t want to pay for other people’s luxuries. This is one reason Trump won. Many people are tired of paying for people who don’t want to work or pay for their own cost of living.
Rick. I agree with you
So big deal. All this does is put in place a regular reporting. All the heavy lifting is in policies lowering energy costs.
NAR is a sycophantic group with a lock on things they never should have taken for themselves. What is it they are doing for us, exactly besides…fees? They support whomever comes down the pike, I’m sure because they feel they must, making it impossible to respect them.
They sold us out on the whole buyer agent contract lawsuits. More business for listing agents and less for buyer agents is the result of their weak settlement
That is the way I feel about NAR
It’s time to ditch the NAR and find a better association.
🤡
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Agree with ME and Della. They heard your earlier message and felt they had to say something. All they care about is self preservation, our dues, and DEI. Business success for their members is hardly on the radar screen.
We don’t need a bone. We need more affordable housing built for seniors and interest rates to go down. Beyond that , someone threw us a bone with no meat.
At least Realtors have an association; we appraisers have no one except the AI, they want more diverse appraisers while Freddie and Fannie are trying their best to get rid of us.
I agree with Joseph, Fanny and Freddie are doing their best to eliminate appraisers out of the homebuying process
How many times have I heard that America doesn’t have enough people but somehow we don’t have enough housing. Which is it. How much housing is being occupied by people in the country illegally? Deport them and see if we still have a shortage. Government regulations are what makes housing unaffordable.
Mortgage rates have to come down before the dam will break. at 6.5%-7% mortgage rates, home purchasing is not affordable when you realistically must pay over the purchase price in order to get a home. When mortgage rates come down then homes will come on the market. Millions are presently sitting on 3% loans and will not sell their homes at these rates. end of story. NAR is a joke.
housing is a cashflow market rates come down prices go up as we have an established payment model the total payment will stay but the price will increase to offset the interest savings look at the hstory of high rates in the eighties
I don’t pay attention to convicted felons
Please stop your propaganda and keep your political views to your self.
This Executive action is an other BS.
The NAR needs to be eliminated. The American people voted to get rid of left wing everything, especially the corruption. Democrats need to all move to CA and NY and stay there.
Just more political theater
I don’t see any concrete proposals in this bs executive order that will reduce the housing shortage and increase affordability. The crap I read said the following: we’re going to roll back energy efficiency appliance standards, discontinue initiatives that will work to cut the cost of healthcare and prescriptions, reverse green energy policies that will aid in climate change, force Americans to accept low paying jobs because we’re going to deport millions of immigrants who work on the farms, in our meatpacking plants and construction and all other low wage jobs. Everything is this bs executive order means higher cost for most Americans. NAR should be ashamed of itself for endorsing this crap. Why do we have to pay to be a part of an organization that is clearly working against most of us?
The sheer stupidity of you sheep following this CON man blows my mind. You do realize he was only successful (in his own mind) in real estate because he screwed people? Skimped on EVERYTHING and pocketed the money. Left out insulations, built crazy buildings, ignored building regulations, etc. All money ain’t good money and you have sold your souls to the devil himself. It WILL come back to bite you, but YA’LL chose this! This is NOT my president and never will be! Yep, NAR NEVER again will you see a dime from me. Now…excuse me while I go and do real GOOD work for our community that this orange muppet will be destroying. CUE the meltdown from MAGA….and 3,2,1 GO
Ditto, Sabrina.
All fluff, no meat.
Why does NAR or any American think that this man is going to do anything about affordable housing or alleviating the road blocks to home ownership,. He is nothing but a loud mouth with a low IQ and never solves anything, because he is incompetent and knows nothing and understands nothing. He did nothing In his first term and will do nothing now besides spout words that are meaningless. He is a weak paper tiger who prefers being a bully. We are in for four years of nonsense, lies and taking the country backward. Shame on America for its ignorance.
Has anyone taken the ridiculous increases in home insurance charges into consideration while bemoaning the slowdown of sales? Consumers have taken notice that insurance companies take not only base fees but also increase charges whenever a claim is filed. Each increase affects the homeowners escrow and therefore their ability to afford the home.
INSURANCE RATES MUST BE CONTROLLED. Should they be reduced and capped, or just capped?
Do not forget that it is the Real Estate Market that dictates prices. Trump is for the ultra rich, not the middle class. He may be successful in bringing down real estate prices with his policies that will cause a huge recession. Hold on it is going to be a ruff ride.
One of the biggest problems preventing homeownership is that owner occupiers can’t compete with investors. Investors get to deduct all housing related costs such as utilities, Insurance, property taxes, interest, repairs, Hoa Dues, etc. before paying any income tax. Owner Occupiers need to earn income then pay income taxes and whatever is left can be used to pay all of these expenses with the exception of Interest deductions and Property taxes as long as it isn’t too high (SALT Deduction limits and Mortgage Interest limitations).
It is an uneven playing field and Investors have the edge incentivizing them to pay higher prices than what owner occupiers are willing to pay, not to mention the fact that investors generally have the down payment to invest where owner occupiers struggle to save for a down payment.
Increasing standard deduction only incentivizes people to rent since there is not a greater benefit to itemize deductions as an owner.
Government needs to incentivize developers to build more housing that can be sold in smaller pieces such as condo’s and townhouses, studios and 1 or 2 bedroom units so individuals and small families can have the opportunity at homeownership and build wealth. As our society continues to evolve with reduced traditional family formation, fewer marriages, fewer children, more divorce, etc. there is certainly less need for large homes.
There needs to be a real push for starter homes where young people just starting out and families with limited resources can have an opportunity to get in the game. As home ownership increases it will also improve the communities because owners will stay in their homes longer than renters and they will be more concerned about their neighborhoods.
There needs to be more opportunity and financial reward for individuals and families making less than 100k to buy rather than rent.
You could possibly create financial incentives for developers to reduce capital gains on any housing unit that they are able to sell for less than the median price unit in that county or mid to low value zip code. This might encourage a developer to buy an apartment building and turn them into condos selling them individually creating a lot of new homeowners
Has anyone thought of 3-D printing of a house? As was done in the NE and is being done in areas in Africa that have the same housing shortage, but not for the same reasons. They are sturdy, definitely fire retardant and can be printed in a much shorter time than traditional sick frame!
In my opinion, too much emphasis is being placed on solving a problem that doesn’t really exist. Rather than seek grants for buyers, we need to provide incentives for sellers to encourage them to place their homes on the market. This could take the form of outright grants or a tax incentive. Buyers are not the problem; we have an abundance of qualified buyers, although some incentives for first time home buyers would also be welcome.
I would love to see affordable housing for first time home buyers, you know the people that are mid-20 to 40. It would be great to get them out of renting and just throwing their money away to a landlord. With interest rates mid 6% to 7%, insurance rates up, and housing shortage, its impossible for them to realize the dream of owning a home. Even though builders build, they are building in a price range that the majority of this age generation can’t touch. It would be great if NAR would apply some weight and really spell out the problem and not just nod their head on what the president says…cause it’s most likely not going to be of any benefit. A sorry situation for so many young people. They can’t even realize the American Dream of owning a house. A sad situation for many.
All the political finger pointing aside, I do feel there are policies that could improve homeownership affordability, while dramatically reducing or ending taxpayer subsidies.
Yes, it’s true, even left of center people can be fiscal conservatives, and I think everyone wants their tax dollars to be used wisely for maximum benefits.
Homeownership costs have risen to very high levels in many areas, particularly in the coastal states and in nicer weather areas.
But, other areas in the country have had stable or falling home prices (many small towns of interior America, and several cities where jobs have declined, etc.).
Several ideas come to mind for finding affordable areas.
Firstly, perhaps we need to consider that moving to a more affordable town or state is a good way to go. My family has done that and still does, so have millions of other people. That pattern of migration is the juice of our national mythology, but its not a myth.
Sometimes you have to move to find or follow your job, and sometimes you have to move where you can afford to live within that income level.
I’ll talk about livable wages and job creation later because I know some may think this comment to be a bit harsh, but all of my family has had to move around for jobs, and sometimes we had to move again. There were costs and benefits to moving, but that’s life.
Secondly, I am really tired of hearing that developers cannot afford to convert abandoned buildings into refurbished housing (or tear down dilapidated buildings and build on the same site). New York City has done that all over the place, taking industrial & manufacturing areas and abandoned retail zones and regentrifying entire regions, with great success. Why can’t California do that? Why can’t any state do that?
I live and travel in most areas of California, and it is astonishing how many buildings sit empty or very under-utilized, including abandoned malls, and many very nice, newish office buildings that are mostly empty as companies down-sized to smaller offices.
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Some of these sites are old manufacturing zones (totally empty), others are retail zones with many shops that sit vacant for years running. We should incentivize developers to use these areas first for affordable housing, rather than using undeveloped lands, park lands, or wild areas.
California has lost so much open space as its population swelled after 1850, after WWI, and again after WWII, and we desperately need to keep the few undeveloped lands for parks, local agriculture, community gardens, trail systems, wildlife areas, wetland zones for flood protection and to restore creeks and wetlands for natural fire breaks and ground water recharge too, etc.
Refurbishing existing (old) buildings or tearing them down and starting over on the same site can sometimes cost more, at least initially, but the locations are often fantastic for long term benefits, being adjacent to major work centers and with easy access to transit lines and major roads. Building homes near work areas often means less traffic on the roads and less need to build or expand roads and freeways. That’s a great long term savings. Regentrifying areas into vibrant new housing zones helps to curb crime too.
More in the next post.