The article argues that Donald Trump’s call to keep home prices high for existing owners conflicts with his past pledge to cut housing costs and fails to address the root causes of the affordability crisis. It says rising housing prices are driven less by zoning rules alone and more by growing income inequality, as highly paid college-educated workers bid up prices beyond the reach of others. While deregulation and increased housing supply could lower costs somewhat, research suggests it would take decades of unusually rapid building to make homes affordable for lower-income workers in major cities. The piece concludes that neither zoning reform nor expanded rent control alone can solve the crisis, and that meaningful affordability will require broader solutions beyond simply boosting supply.
Date: February 7, 2026. Source: theguardian.com