Washington is trying to fix the housing crisis. The hard part is that most of the problem isn't in Washington.
The first executive order directs the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to review and revise stormwater and wetlands permitting requirements that add cost to construction projects. It also targets NEPA environmental reviews and historic preservation reporting — both notorious for slowing down building timelines — and calls for agencies to streamline approvals and roll back Biden-era energy-efficiency building codes.
Agencies are also directed to create incentives for state and local governments to speed up permitting and allow more innovative construction methods.
The second order tells the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to rewrite mortgage rules to make it easier for community banks to offer construction and home purchase loans, with the goal of expanding credit access for first-time buyers.
The Trump administration has also directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities to push borrowing costs lower, and signed an earlier order aimed at blocking large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
But as the AP noted, it's "unclear how quickly federal efforts can generate new construction or meaningfully reduce mortgage costs" — because the core barriers to housing are zoning laws, local permitting, and land-use rules set by cities and counties, not federal agencies.
Even Trump himself has sent mixed signals: at his January cabinet meeting, he told the room "we're going to keep those prices up" for existing homeowners.
November's midterm elections are approaching and housing affordability polls near the top of voter concerns. The Senate passed the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act last week. The White House backed it. The House hasn't moved yet.
Executive orders can be implemented quickly. Changing how much it costs to build a home takes years.
