During a one-hour-and-47-minute-long speech, President Trump had few words to share on issues important to real estate professionals, like affordable housing, mortgage rates or the inventory crisis.
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Everyday Americans and real estate industry professionals who were hoping that President Trump might offer some encouragement or solutions when it comes to affordable housing in the U.S. during his State of the Union speech last night were left disappointed.
During his one-hour-and-47-minute address — the longest in modern American history — the president largely focused on his priorities of crime, immigration and the economy, while also seeking to paint Democrats as anti-American.
When Trump did address real estate-adjacent issues like housing and mortgage rates, the president framed these topics through his own self-perceived victory in bringing the economy back to health, largely without acknowledging that many Americans continue to struggle with affordability.
What the president did say
President Trump only mentioned housing and mortgage rates once during comments on how his administration has reduced core inflation over the past year.
“Mortgage rates are the lowest in four years and falling fast, and the annual cost of a typical new mortgage is down almost $5,000 just since I took office. One year,” Trump said.
“And low interest rates will solve the Biden-created housing problem while at the same time protecting the values of those people who already own a house that really feel rich for the first time in their lives. We want to protect those values; we want to keep those values up. We are going to do both. And we are going to keep it that way.”
Those comments echoed ones that the president made earlier this month during a cabinet meeting in which he argued for keeping home prices elevated to help Americans grow wealth through real estate, while simultaneously working to reduce borrowing costs so that homeownership could be more accessible.
Trump also brought up in Tuesday’s speech his ban on the purchase of single-family homes by institutional investors, an initiative he announced on Truth Social at the beginning of the year. Using a Houston-based mom in the audience as an example, the president spoke about her struggle in trying to outbid large investment firms this year, while trying to buy a home for her family.
“She placed bids on 20 homes and lost all of those bids to gigantic investment firms that bypassed inspection,” Trump said. “Paid all cash and turned those houses into rentals, stealing away her American dream. She was devastated. Stories like this are why last month I signed an executive order to ban large Wall Street investment firms from buying up, in the thousands, single-family homes.
“And now I’m asking Congress to make that ban permanent, because homes for people — really, that’s what we want,” the president continued. “We want homes for people, not for corporations. Corporations are doing just fine…”
The industry’s response
The National Association of Realtors responded to the president’s speech last night by thanking the administration and Congress for its commitment to housing affordability and supply challenges. The association emphasized the need to unlock more inventory and called on the Senate to pass the Housing for the 21st Century Act, a bill that seeks to improve housing affordability through zoning, financing and regulatory overhauls.
“Unlocking existing inventory, streamlining regulatory barriers, incentivizing new construction, and supporting responsible development are all essential components of addressing housing affordability,” NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn said in a statement. “That includes reforming outdated capital gains thresholds that have not been updated in decades and now discourage longtime homeowners from selling, reducing mobility and limiting the number of homes available for new buyers.
Shannon McGahn
“NAR encourages the Senate to consider the recently House-passed Housing for the 21st Century Act, a bipartisan measure designed to reduce barriers to housing production and improve affordability nationwide. We will continue working collaboratively across party lines and focusing on practical, evidence-based solutions, lawmakers can help ensure that the promise of homeownership remains achievable for current and future generations of Americans.”
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) also expressed gratitude for the administration’s focus on the economy, including affordability issues, in a statement issued on Tuesday. The trade association implored the president to continue to put forth policies that will support builders and contractors in order to further housing and infrastructure goals.
“While resilient, the construction industry faces ongoing headwinds from high costs, tariff uncertainty and a chronic workforce shortage,” ABC President and CEO Michael Bellaman said in a statement. “As these concerns mount, the president should note that this industry is key to achieving his promises to lower the cost of housing, infrastructure and energy for American families. ABC urges the president to create the conditions for contractors to thrive with pro-growth policies so that he can deliver on his affordability promise to the American people.
“Looking ahead, ABC encourages continued action on policies critical to the future of the industry’s workforce, including advancing a new market-based worker visa program that supports American workers, strengthens national security and protections for taxpayers and helps communities build what we need,” Bellaman added. “This new program would tie construction worker visas to documented demand rather than an arbitrary numerical cap, an approach that reflects economic reality and provides stability for workers, employers and communities …”
The National Apartment Association and National Multifamily Housing Council also responded to the president’s address by stressing the importance of working to solve the housing affordability crisis and encouraged the White House to support bipartisan housing packages, including the ROAD to Housing Act and Housing for the 21st Century Act.
What Dems had to say
In the Democratic response to the State of the Union, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger criticized President Trump’s policies surrounding immigration and affordability. The governor called out the president for his excessive use of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, have been killed in recent weeks amid clashes between federal agents and protesters.
Spanberger likewise criticized the president’s tariff policies, which she said have hurt the economy and everyday Americans. The governor cited a report by Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee, which said costs as a result of the tariffs have passed along more than $1,700 in added expenses to every American family.
“Small businesses have suffered. Farmers have suffered — some losing entire markets,” Spanberger said. “Everyday Americans are paying the price. And even though the Supreme Court struck these tariffs down four days ago, the damage to us, the American people, has already been done.”
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla of California gave a response to the president’s speech in Spanish, during which he emphasized similar points.
“The truth is that the State of our Union does not feel strong for everyone,” Padilla said in Spanish. “Not when the costs of rent, food and electricity keep rising. Not when Republicans raise our medical costs to fund tax cuts for billionaires. And definitely not when federal agents — armed and masked — terrorize our communities by targeting people because of the color of their skin or for speaking Spanish — including immigrants with legal status and citizens.”
Email Lillian Dickerson
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