
Looking to acquire the deed to a home? A new federal administration could factor into the amount you’ll need to pay. For one thing, the incoming administration is talking about tariffs that would raise the cost of materials and construction work.
On the other hand, actual housing policy falls to the states. Under their authority from the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, states create zoning and building standards, with local ordinances filling in many of the details and procedures.
And the 2024 ballot results make it clear that people in various parts of the country expect their states to create affordability.
What Ever Happened to Housing Affordability?
The traditional rule says a household should pay no more than 30% of its gross earnings on keeping a roof overhead. These days, that rule is awfully hard to follow.
In recent decades, property values have soared as demand has outpaced supply. Developers in search of profit margins spent a lot of time and energy building big houses. Modest, compact homes became increasingly scarce. Then, to top it all off, came a pandemic.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to stimulate a post-lockdown economy. Big investment groups exploited low borrowing costs to buy up homes, driving up prices.
Today’s home prices are taking over buyers’ incomes. And then there are the rising tax and insurance costs. Today’s typical household spends more than it can save.
Qualifying for a mortgage in this housing economy is difficult for most. But it’s much more so for buyers from minority groups. The latest reports show white household homeownership rates at approximately 74%. Of households classified as Black or Hispanic, though, less than half hold the deeds to their homes.
Can companies that benefited from the pandemic economy help nonprofit housing providers acquire, rebuild, repair, and reuse properties? Can state and local governments see that it happens?
Here’s Where Voters Are Pressing Their States to Act.

Numerous U.S. cities and states approved new bonds and taxes so that the supply of homes can be expanded. Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for Redfin, notes that these 2024 voters took stands for putting resources into affordable housing:
- In the midst of a very hot real estate market in North Carolina, voters committed to a $100 million bond measure for the city of Charlotte to create and maintain more affordable housing.
- Baltimore voters committed to a ballot measure for $20 million in bonds to acquire and maintain more affordable housing.
- Voters green-lighted $120 million in bonds to expand affordable housing in the state of Rhode Island.
- Per voters, the Los Angeles sales tax is going up, with proceeds to support affordable homes. (In contrast, Denver voters rejected a sales tax increase that would have raised $100 million annually for affordable housing.)
California has a rule that at least two-thirds of each house must agree to fund any affordable housing initiatives. According to Roger Valdez at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, this could be impeding progress. And yet California has also been a champion of rezoning to promote accessory dwelling units (like backyard cottages and basement apartments) to let more deed holders house family or renters.
Upzoning for affordable housing is going to need states to take action. The federal government is unlikely to do it. As Redfin’s Fairweather points out: “Although President-elect Trump has promised to cut red tape for homebuilders, he has also pledged to protect single-family zoning in the suburbs.”
Not in my backyard? Find out where states stand on zoning to promote more accessory dwelling units.
New Construction? Or Adaptive Reuse?
New construction is not the only way to increase supply. There are vacant homes, warehouses, and offices throughout the states that could become housing.
It’s called adaptive reuse. Consider a warehouse, built back in 1906 in St. Louis’s garment district. After its useful life, the building stood vacant for some 30 years, creating an eyesore that spanned a whole city block. It’s now The Victor. A thriving residential community, complete with a pool, bike storage, coworking spaces, and shops. With respect for its history, the doors that once opened for horse-drawn wagons were restored.
Hundreds of residents now live in these new homes. Kudos to St. Louis for incentivizing the developer to set aside one in four of the units for residents of modest income.
Such a project, according to the Urban Land Institute, can be carried out for 12-15% under the cost of putting up a new building. This has special significance as we enter 2025. Assuming tariffs create cost bloat, adaptive reuse of existing building space should be a focus for states and cities. It will also help governors and mayors cut construction-related emissions.
Private-public collaborations play key roles in such projects. In other words, institutional investors need to come aboard.
Outside the Box
In Roger Valdez’s view, we also need a national mindset shift.
It’s time, writes Valdez, for policy makers and people to enter a serious dialogue “about the so-called ‘American Dream’ that rests on the ownership of a fixed, detached, single-family home financed with a 30-year taxpayer backed mortgage.” The high upfront cost of buying into that paradigm is locking people out — and leaving them scant hope to get in. Valdez gives a hat tip to alternatives, like shared housing and the use of land trusts.
It would benefit us as a nation, Valdez suggests, to consider the following policy commitments:
- The Department of Housing and Urban Development could allocate more funding for manufactured (“prefab”) housing.
- Congress should authorize direct cash distributions to renters, and provide them with homebuyer courses and simplified access to down payment assistance.
- The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Section 8 housing vouchers should become simpler to use.
- Congress could allow for tax deductions for household spending that exceeds 30% of gross earnings. This would spare households from exhausting most of their money on housing while scrimping on other basic needs.
- Governments at every level could promote ownership models, such as co-ops, that are less dependent on large, profit-driven lenders.
But of all the steps state and local governments can take, the most impactful change involves easing restrictions. Let supply rise. Let housing inflation ease. State and local leaders should consider rezoning for adaptive reuse, and encourage single-unit homeowners to put roofs over more heads.
Supporting References
Daryl Fairweather for Redfin Real Estate News via Redfin.com: Voters Are Willing to Spend Big on Affordable Housing (Dec. 5, 2024).
Roger Valdez for the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREEOPP): White Paper – Housing Opportunities to Improve Housing Affordability in 2025 and Beyond (Sep. 30, 2024).
Laurie Goodman and Katherine Fallon for Housing Matters, from the Urban Institute via Urban.org: Upward Mobility Partnerships Between Institutional Investors and Nonprofits Could Boost Affordable Housing Supply (Nov. 20, 2024).
Joel Fuoss for Urban Land®, via the Urban Land Institute at UrbanLand.ULI.org: Project Profile – How Adaptive Use Can Help Solve Affordable Housing Shortage, Environmental Issues (Oct. 25, 2024).
And as linked.
More on topics: Upzoning for affordability, Deed restrictions may limit new units
Photo credits: David Valdez of HUD via Picryl.com; and HUD staff via GetArchive.org, the NARA & DVIDS Archive. Both photos licensed as Public Domain.