Affordable Housing – How Donald Trump Could Accomplish More Than Jimmy Carter

TIPP Staff -

By & , CFACT |January 23, 2025

The passing of Jimmy Carter sparked much praise for his post-presidency good deeds, particularly his decades of volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity building homes for low-income families.

But as President, Carter and several of his successors made housing considerably less affordable by enacting mountains of costly regulations, especially environmental ones. President Donald Trump could accomplish more than 100 Habitats for Humanity by undoing this red tape.

To take one recent example, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has decided to adopt a stringent international energy efficiency code for all new homes qualifying for federally backed mortgages. Among HUD’s primary reasons for doing so was “reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.”

According to a study from the National Association of Home Builders, this change could raise the cost of a new home by up to $31,000, far eclipsing any likely energy savings. And, from an affordability standpoint, even a fraction of that amount would make housing prohibitively expensive for many more prospective home buyers.

Ironically, HUD is supposed to focus on expanding homeownership for lower-income and minority households. It’s a very worthy goal, as home ownership is virtually indispensable to escaping poverty and creating intergenerational wealth. But like so many other agencies under the Biden administration, HUD has prioritized a costly climate change agenda above all else.

With white homeownership rates of 74.2 percent but only 45.7 percent for blacks and 48.8 percent for Hispanics, HUD should be laser-focused on fighting these disparities instead of pushing environmental policies that add to the problem.

And HUD isn’t the half of it. There are also costly Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency regulations raising the price of nearly every home appliance – including air conditioners, dishwashers, furnaces, washing machines, refrigerators, and stoves.

The DOE’s new water heater rule alone will boost the price of a new electric model by an agency estimated $953 when it takes effect in 2029.

Indeed, the list goes on and on of environmental regulations that adversely impact home prices.

These green measures don’t get nearly as much blame as the federal policies driving up mortgage rates – including excessive government spending – but they probably should. After all, even the lowest mortgage rate does no good for those who can’t afford a home in the first place.

Federal land use restrictions also play a role. From the vast swaths of land owned outright by the federal government to the expansive interpretations of wetlands and endangered species protections affecting private lands, too much of America is off-limits to homebuilders.

Jim Burling, Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Pacific Legal Foundation, explains this often-overlooked contribution to the problem in his 2024 book “Nowhere to Live: The Hidden Story of America’s Housing Crisis”.

Burling documents examples of “projects that have suffered lawsuit after lawsuit, where environmental studies have cost millions, and where development is still stymied after nearly two decades.”

So what should the incoming President do about the housing crisis? Of course, he could carry on with the charitable work of Jimmy Carter, grab a hammer and a box of nails, and spend his Saturdays as a Habitat for Humanity volunteer. Maybe Melania could help with the drywall.

Or he could do infinitely more to assist American families struggling to have a home of their own by reversing the many federal roadblocks to affordable housing.

This article originally appeared at The Mortgage Note

Donna Jackson, CFACT policy analyst, is a seasoned business woman with public and private sector experience, and has spent decades as a pro-energy advocate for the minority population.

Ben Lieberman is a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Original article link