Less federal red tape means more housing for Americans

OPINION:

The solution to the nation’s housing shortage is less government intervention, not more. Thankfully, Scott Turner, the new secretary of housing and urban development, is off to a fast start, reducing the red tape and increasing the likelihood of more “sold” signs in the years ahead.

It’s a big task because there aren’t just a few costly federal programs or regulations to eliminate but rather a long list that was made considerably longer under the Biden administration. Nonetheless, Mr. Turner is already chipping away at the barriers to affordable homes.

Doing so is especially important for lower-income Americans who are still climbing the economic ladder. Homeownership means avoiding rising rents, creating intergenerational wealth and having a source of capital to start or expand a business. Even Walmart was launched because Sam Walton borrowed on his home.

Toward this end, Mr. Turner is delaying the compliance date for a Biden HUD policy, adopted jointly with the Department of Agriculture, mandating stringent international building code provisions for all new homes qualifying for government-backed mortgages.

This measure was cheered on by climate change activists but would have raised the cost of new homes by up to $31,000, according to a study from the National Association of Home Builders. To put that into perspective, the association estimates that every $1,000 increase in the price of a home disqualifies 140,000 prospective buyers. Hopefully, HUD will use the extra time to consider scrapping these provisions entirely.

Mr. Turner also announced he is revoking HUD’s 2021 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule imposed on local governments.

These costly and cumbersome provisions, including a 92-question form, served little useful purpose but did impede housing projects throughout the U.S. The rule is emblematic of much of the anti-housing discrimination bureaucracy in Washington, which has devolved into a counterproductive maze that benefits government employees and career activists but comes at the expense of increasing the nation’s housing stock.

Most recently, Mr. Turner and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum launched a joint task force to make more federally owned lands available for housing. Such land is vast, especially in Western states, and it includes several million acres suitable for housing. Making more of this land available could substantially improve housing availability and affordability in some parts of the country. It would also further the worthy goal of shifting such land use decisions away from Washington and into the hands of state and local governments.

This is just a start, but it’s a great start. Progress won’t be easy, as environmental groups have a long history of litigation blocking housing developments and will no doubt continue in those efforts.

Of course, non-HUD factors also play important roles. In particular, we need strong economic growth that puts more money in the pockets of prospective first-time homebuyers and measures to keep mortgage rates as reasonable as possible. Although ongoing tariff battles may raise the cost of imported building materials, their positive resolution could create more American jobs supporting more mortgage payments.

A lot goes into the housing market, and it is hard to predict homebuilding activity and price trends. Still, in contrast with the last four years, we now have the benefit of a HUD secretary no longer working to add red tape at every turn but working to remove it.

• Donna Jackson is a senior policy analyst for the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow.