{"id":1405660,"date":"2026-02-08T09:11:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T14:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1405660&preview=true&preview_id=1405660"},"modified":"2026-02-08T09:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T14:28:18","slug":"voters-are-worried-about-the-cost-of-housing-but-trump-wants-home-prices-to-keep-climbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/08\/voters-are-worried-about-the-cost-of-housing-but-trump-wants-home-prices-to-keep-climbing\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters are worried about the cost of housing. But Trump wants home prices to keep climbing"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JOSH BOAK The Associated Press<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> wants to keep home prices high<\/a>, bypassing calls to ramp up construction so people can afford what has been a ticket to the middle class.<\/p>\n

Trump has instead argued for protecting existing owners who have watched the values of their homes climb. It\u2019s a position that flies in the face of what many economists, the real estate industry, local officials and apartment dwellers say is needed to fix a big chunk of America\u2019s affordability problem<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes, and they can be assured that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Trump told his Cabinet on Jan. 29.<\/p>\n

That approach could bolster the Republican president\u2019s standing with older voters, a group that over time has been more likely to vote in midterm elections<\/a>. Those races in November will determine whether Trump\u2019s party can retain control of the House and Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a lot of people that have become wealthy in the last year because their house value has gone up,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd you know, when you get the housing \u2014 when you make it too easy and too cheap to buy houses \u2014 those values come down.\u201d<\/p>\n

But by catering to older baby boomers on housing, Trump risks alienating the younger voters who expanded his coalition in 2024 and helped him win a second term, and he could wade into a \u201cgenerational war\u201d in the midterms, said Brent Buchanan, whose polling firm Cygnal advises Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe under-40 group is the most important right now \u2014 they are the ones who put Trump in the White House,\u201d Buchanan said. \u201cTheir desire to show up in an election or not is going to make the difference in this election. If they feel that Donald Trump is taking care of the boomers at their expense, that is going to hurt Republicans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The logic in appealing to older voters<\/h4>\n

In the 2024 presidential election, 81% of Trump\u2019s voters were homeowners, according to AP VoteCast data. This means many of his supporters already have mortgages with low rates or own their homes outright, possibly blunting the importance of housing as an issue.<\/p>\n

Older voters tend to show up to vote more than do younger people, said Oscar Pocasangre, a senior data analyst at liberal think tank New America who has studied the age divide in U.S. politics. \u201cHowever, appealing to older voters may prove to be a misguided policy if what\u2019s needed to win is to expand the voting base,\u201d Pocasangre said.<\/p>\n

Before the 2026 elections, voters have consistently rated affordability<\/a> as a top concern, and that is especially true for younger voters with regard to housing.<\/p>\n

Booker Lightman, 30, a software engineer in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, who identifies politically as a libertarian Republican, said the shortage of housing has been a leading problem in his state.<\/p>\n

Lightman just closed on a home last month, and while he and his wife, Alice, were able to manage the cost, he said that the lack of construction is pushing people out of Colorado. \u201cThere\u2019s just not enough housing supply,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Shay Hata, a real estate agent in the Chicago and Denver areas, said she handles about 100 to 150 transactions a year. But she sees the potential for a lot more. \u201cWe have a lack of inventory to the point where most properties, particularly in the suburbs, are getting between five and 20 offers,\u201d she said, describing what she sees in the Chicago area.<\/p>\n

New construction could help more people afford homes because in some cases, buyers qualify for discounted mortgage rates from the builders\u2019 preferred lenders, Hata said. She called the current situation \u201cvery discouraging for buyers because they\u2019re getting priced out of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n