It’s harder than ever to buy a home, thanks to immigration, environmental regulations, and zoning restrictions. The word “crisis” gets used too often, but housing certainly qualifies.
On the heels of an election won by Democrats who stressed “affordability,” the Trump administration has floated the idea of introducing 50-year mortgages to lower the entry cost of buying a home. Is that a good idea?
“I bought my first condo in the early 1990s in Washington, DC. Paid $115,000 for it. It was in McLean, Virginia, a nice area, and it was three times my income,” says Peter Schweizer, host of The DrillDown podcast. “How many people today could say they can take their income, triple it, and buy a house for that price?”
Co-host Eric Eggers does the math. “Don’t get a 50-year mortgage,” Eggers cautions. “On a $350,000 house at 6 percent interest, you would pay $250 a month less, but you would spend an extra $367,000 in interest.”
Housing costs have risen for many reasons, but immigration is a big factor. Since 1995, immigrants — legal or illegal — to the U.S. have risen by about 30 million people and now account for 15.8 percent of the population, according to Pew Research. That adds demand for housing.
Environmental restrictions and zoning restrictions are another large factor. A recent study quantified their effects on housing prices. In San Francisco, as the hosts note, restrictive zoning laws added $400,000 to the cost of a home. “In Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City, it’s much better: it’s only $200,000 added to the costs there,” Schweizer adds.
Environmental regulators, they point out, have long been opposed to single-family homes. “They don’t want people living in single family homes. They want us to live in apartments. They want them in condos,” Eggers says. “The Venn diagram of people who push for environmental regulations and more lax immigration policies is significant. There’s a lot of overlap there.”
“The cost of building a home has certainly increased. Lumber and labor get more expensive, but costs have increased much more. That’s because of these regulation restrictions,” says Schweizer. “Joe Biden had this push — he didn’t want homes to have gas.” Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency made a push against gas stoves. That regulation alone, Schweizer says, added about $15,000 to the costs of building a home.
Home ownership is a huge part of the American Dream, and it is foundational to so many things Americans strive to create. Pride of ownership, a stake in one’s community, and as a place to raise children. In fact, a recent study actually correlated higher rents to fertility decline.
Is this on purpose? If so, why?
The hosts remind viewers of the infamous pronouncement from the World Economic Forum that by 2030, “You’ll own nothing and be happy.” This is a classic means of social engineering.
“People who don’t own are more vulnerable,” Schweizer says. “The biggest investment most people have is their home, and if you take that away they are more vulnerable.”
Eggers adds that “sovereignty is an American value.”
For the Trump administration, addressing “affordability” issues has clearly become the message learned from the election losses in New York, Virginia, and New Jersey. Schweizer believes, for instance, that Trump should frame his deportations of illegal immigrants as easing housing shortages and prices. He should shift focus to affordability and building.
This works two ways, both by positioning Trump’s policies as helping to lower costs and by shifting attention to states like California where housing costs are extremely high because of regulations and restrictions imposed by the liberal government of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is planning to run for President in 2028.
“Gavin Newsom needs to be called out on why things are so unaffordable in California and it is precisely because of the big hand of government that their housing costs are so astronomically high,” Schweizer adds.
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