What Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the housing market

After a hotly contested race with big implications for the housing market, Donald Trump will return to the White House for a second term, four years after losing his first bid for reelection.

Trump will be the 47th president, after securing enough Electoral College votes from the key swing states to put him over the threshold for victory. Republicans have also regained majority control of the Senate.

A Republican sweep of the House and Senate would give Trump significant freedom to pursue his agenda, including what plans he has sketched out to make housing more affordable.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Trump—flanked by his family—declared to supporters in West Palm Beach, FL, that it was “a political victory that our country has never seen before” and vowed to “fight for you and your future.”

Trump added that he will “not rest until we have delivered a strong, safe, and prosperous America that you deserve and that your children deserve.”

(President-elect Donald Trump on stage at a campaign watch party in West Palm Beach on Nov. 6, 2024.Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The election unfolded against the backdrop of a housing crisis, with half of renters nationwide designated as cost-burdened, and record-high home prices pushing homeownership out of reach for many.

On the campaign trail, Trump had blamed rising home prices on a surge of illegal immigration during the Biden administration.

He also claimed that he would somehow lower mortgage rates if elected, although presidents do not control mortgage rates.

Here’s a look at some of Trump’s signature policy proposals, and what impact they might have on the housing market.

Mass deportation of immigrants

Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, have repeatedly claimed that illegal immigration is responsible for America’s housing affordability crisis, by putting immigrants in competition with citizens for scarce housing units.

Trump has promised to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history” and argues that this will ease housing prices by reducing demand.

(Trump has claimed that tackling illegal immigration will help make housing more affordable.Christopher Sadowski)

Cut regulations and open up federal land for building Trump has called for slashing regulations and permit requirements that homebuilders say add unnecessary costs to new homes.

“We will eliminate regulations that drive up housing costs with the goal of cutting the cost of a new home in half. We think we can do that. The regulations alone cost 30%. Regulation costs 30% of a new home,” Trump claimed in a September speech at the Economic Club of New York.

However, those figures appear to be dramatically overblown.

The National Association of Home Builders, a longstanding industry critic of regulations, estimates that site work and related permit fees account for 7.4% of the average new-home cost.

Pressure Fed to lower interest rates

Finally, Trump has also claimed that he would somehow lower mortgage rates, although there is no clear mechanism for the president to do so.

“Reducing mortgage rates is a big factor. We’re going to get them back down to, we think, 3%, maybe even lower than that, saving the average homebuyer thousands of dollars per year,” Trump said in New York.

“The president doesn’t set mortgage rates. If elected, Trump probably wouldn’t be able to arbitrarily decide to lower them even if he wanted to,” says LendingTree senior economist Jacob Channel.

Ref: What Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the housing market (realtor) Photo Credit- Jim Watson/ AFP Via Getty Images, Christopher Sadowski