Glenn Kelman, the CEO of Redfin (NASDAQ: RDFN), has a message for President-elect Donald Trump: Start powering the push for new home construction.
Neither Kelman nor Redfin publicly endorsed Trump’s campaign. But in a blog posting on the Redfin website titled “Way-Too-Early Take: What Trump’s Re-Election Could Mean for Housing,” he observed that Trump’s victory has already sparked greater interest among prospective homebuyers.
“Donald Trump’s re-election seems to have had immediate consequences for housing in America,” he wrote. “Demand from homebuyers requesting service through Redfin’s site, which was already stronger since the Federal Reserve’s September 18 rate cut, was about 25% higher this weekend than the same weekend last year, the largest year-on-year gain since the downturn began in 2022. Some buyers are undoubtedly enthusiastic about a Trump economy; others may have been waiting to make major decisions until after the election.”
Kelman credited Trump’s return to the White House to younger Americans who were unhappy with the current housing market – and he added Trump need to repay this electorate support.
“The young voters who, after years living in their parents’ basement, swung right in this election, will expect President Trump to act as America’s real estate developer in chief, and build the housing that they need,” Kelman wrote. “He can do this by setting aside well-meaning regulations on home-building that limit construction and make housing less affordable: local comment periods, traffic studies, parking requirements, environmental reviews in already well-settled areas, and limits on apartment buildings in neighborhoods of single-family homes. These rules are set by state and local governments, but the federal government could create a strong incentive for states to adopt simplified and consistent housing regulations, just as it does with the drinking age.”
Kelman pointed to data that placed the nation’s housing shortage at being between 2 million and 5 million homes. But he insisted the incoming president can address this shortfall.
“Many of America’s problems are hard to solve, but this one isn’t, especially for a president who loves construction,” he continued.
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Tariffs on building materials will beca problem.
Mr Kerman, Tell us where you live. Let’s start this deregulation in your neighborhood. Let builders overbuild with poorly constructed affordable housing without concern for traffic, the environment, schools, open space and building codes. Trump is your man if that’s what you want.
Regulation of the home building industry has hit the tipping point. The over regulation has increased cost and the result is unaffordable housing for most of the American population.
To all 3 commenters. I could not have said it better myself. All of you hit the nail(s) on the head. I’ve been in real estate 30+ years and IMHO, it’s going to take addressing all 3 problems to make headway with the housing shortage.
While we may need more homes, the easiest way for that to happen is for corporate America, all these hedge funds who own so many single family homes that were purchased to make them mega bucks, to start to divest.
Placing these homes on the market at a resonable pace will create more supply without having a negative pricing effect.
Investors need to concentrate on multi family buildings and leave the single family homes alone
Yes!!
Nothing is going to help if home prices are $ 80,000- $100,000 or more over what the home is worth
People aren’t stupid lower the damn prices!
Supply and Demand. If there is more supply it should lower the cost of the homes. Right now, there is no supply and high demand, which increases prices.
We need to find a better way than adding CDD fees to new and newer construction, which adds significant financial burden to home buyers in the form of additional non advalorem property taxes.
Housing affordability is not just higher interest rates it’s also property taxes and higher insurance costs. My property taxes and insurance is 40% of my total payment.
I don’t see prices coming down the cost of materials, labor, and local regulations contribute to the costs of new builds. We have an overload of new homes setting on the market here in the Fort Worth area. Homes in this area on the average have increased about 5% per year over the last 3 years which barely keeps up with inflation.
Affordability cannot be fixed with over building it’s not the price of homes that’s the problem it’s the cost of living that’s the problem.
Interest Rates, Inflation, Insurance – The Triple “I” Effect will need to be addresses.
In the rush to increase housing affordability, let’s not overlook the infrastructure required: streets, utilities, schools, etc. There also needs to be some manor of water retention in place to reduce the negative impact on the floodplain and the resulting increase in flood insurance that will have its own impact on affordability.