OPINION:
In an era in which the American dream feels increasingly out of reach, President Trump’s decisive action this week on housing is a bold, overdue strike against the forces pricing ordinary Americans out of their own future.
By moving to slow the sales of single-family homes to large institutional investors, Mr. Trump has taken the average American family and unlocked a path toward restoring fairness in housing.
This is not just smart policy; it’s essential for building strong families, thriving communities and a healthier society.
For too long, homeownership has been slipping away from working Americans.
The numbers are staggering. According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, first-time buyers now account for just 21% of the market, the lowest since tracking began in 1981, while the median age has soared to a record 40 years old, up dramatically from previous generations when families could buy in their 20s or 30s.
Affordability has deteriorated sharply over the decades. In the 1970s, home prices were about two to 2½ times the median household income. By the 1980s, it had risen to around 3½ times. Today, it’s roughly five times the median household income.
A 2024 Zillow analysis revealed that home shoppers needed more than $106,000 in annual household income to comfortably afford a typical U.S. home, an 80% increase from the roughly $59,000 required in January 2020. For context, the U.S. median household income in 2024 was about $83,730, so this required income significantly higher than what most households earned, making homeownership increasingly unattainable for many Americans, particularly first-time and younger buyers.
This is what we need to change in America. We need a housing market where a 30-year-old teacher or nurse can buy a home the way their parents did: without a $100,000-plus annual salary. We need policies that let homebuilders build more homes. We need our federal government to treat homeownership as the foundation of the middle class, not as a luxury good.
Although many factors are at play, including inventory and bureaucratic red tape, it is hard to ignore the structural imbalance between large, well-capitalized investors and first-time or middle-class homebuyers. Billionaires and bankers are often able to borrow against diversified asset bases, move quickly, and absorb transaction costs in ways that most families simply cannot.
Since the financial crisis, institutional ownership of single-family homes has expanded meaningfully in a lot of cities, converting homes into long-term rentals. This has encouraged Americans to rent rather than buy. At the same time, average Americans face rising closing costs, more paperwork and limited flexibility in accessing their own savings for down payments.
Although some academics might downplay the national scope, the impact is undeniable in booming metros such as Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dallas, where more and more of our housing stock is unavailable to average Americans who want to raise a family in a home they own.
Mr. Trump is not penalizing companies; he is trying to balance the system. Homeownership is the cornerstone of the American dream, strengthening household stability, community engagement and long-term wealth creation. Public policy should therefore tilt toward empowering families to compete on fairer terms, expanding access to ownership while preserving a healthy rental market. Efforts to level the playing field and reduce barriers for individual buyers are important steps in that direction.
This policy is a great first step and should complement needed supply-side reforms, such as deregulation and streamlined permitting, to truly unlock affordability.
As Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “the American dream is not, ‘Let them eat flat screens.’” Our nation has always understood intuitively that a home is inherently different from any other commodity and that homes aren’t mere financial instruments like stocks or bonds. Rather, they are the bedrock of personal progress and societal strength.”
The West thrived because ordinary people could stake a claim, put down roots and build futures. Renters move. Owners stay, and that stability matters.
That isn’t just sentiment; it’s backed by data. Homeowners vote more, volunteer more, invest in communities, report higher life satisfaction, enjoy better health and build stronger families. As owners, they want to improve their communities and neighborhoods and leave them in better condition than they found them, for the benefit of their children and grandchildren.
Ownership creates skin in the game, tying people to their neighbors and institutions in ways renting never can.
On the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, we should reflect on the wisdom of America’s Founders, who believed property ownership was essential to our society’s prosperity. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The small landholders are the most precious part of a state.”
By prioritizing everyday Americans over institutional giants, Mr. Trump is ensuring that homes serve their true purpose: enabling ordinary citizens to put down roots and thrive. With supportive policies such as this and continued private sector innovation, we can rebuild a nation where homeownership remains an attainable life milestone, strengthening families, communities and our economy for generations to come.
• Kaz Nejatian is the CEO of real estate company Opendoor.
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