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Housing costs are crushing families – here’s the way out
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently declared that President Donald Trump’s administration is considering declaring an emergency situation for housing. He pointed out the weakest summer home sales in a decade, with more than 15% of transactions falling through in July, the highest cancellation rate since record-keeping commenced in 2017. Prices, though below pandemic levels, are still too lofty for working- and middle-class Americans.
Bessent is right to sound the alarm, and a housing emergency declaration is long overdue.
For too long, politicians have praised the virtues of homeownership while supporting policies that make it harder to achieve. America no longer produces enough houses to meet demand, and existing houses have become more costly than they would otherwise have been due to restrictions imposed by government on building and investing.
America no longer produces enough houses to meet demand, and existing houses have become more costly than they would otherwise have been due to restrictions imposed by government on building and investing. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
National housing experts estimate the United States is short between 3.2 million and 5.5 million homes, depending on the methodology used. Freddie Mac puts the gap at roughly 3.8 million units, while the National Low Income Housing Coalition reports a shortage of more than 7 million affordable and accessible units. This gap between supply and demand is the very reason for rising home prices.
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Government regulations have been largely responsible for causing the shortage.
Studies from the National Association of Home Builders show that federal, state and local regulations account for nearly 24% of the price of a new single-family home and more than 40% of the cost of new multifamily housing. Zoning limitations that restrict density, lengthy permitting programs that draw out projects over years, and building codes that differ significantly from one jurisdiction to another all create unnecessary costs and lost time. For some metro regions, it takes over a decade to transition a project from conceptualization through completion.
If the Trump administration does indeed choose to declare a national housing emergency, its resulting emergency plan should not seek to micromanage local housing markets or build new federal bureaucracies. Instead, it should focus on clearing away the obstacles that make it harder for the private sector to meet today’s growing demand for housing.
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Wherever stringent restrictions have been imposed upon developers or landlords, housing availability has contracted and affordability has gotten further out of reach. Conversely, where markets are freed to act – when permitting is streamlined, financing is accessible and development is allowed to respond to demand – housing has become more plentiful and prices have stabilized.
California shows how this plays out. For decades, stringent zoning and environmental vetting brought building close to a halt, leaving the state short almost 1.3 million units , according one recent estimate. By contrast, states like Texas, which moved more quickly on permitting and allowed higher-density development, have seen faster growth in supply and more moderate price increases even as their populations expanded. In fact, home prices are declining faster in Texas than any other state.
Instead of following states like Texas’ lead and tackling the root causes of the housing shortage, Washington, D.C., continues to scapegoat the private sector.
Take, for example, the trend of blaming rent pricing software.
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Launched under President Joe Biden, this effort wrongly blames technology tools that give real-time housing pricing. Targeting AI may make for nice sounding press releases, but it’s no different than blaming the weatherman for the rain. This technology just reports on what the market is bearing and regulating it away does nothing to put more homes on the market or reduce costs for families.
Or how about the federal and state lawmakers who have chosen to point fingers at housing investors? A study led by New York University’s Joshua Coven found that markets with greater institutional investment saw both an increase in available rental housing and a measurable drop in rents. This is because large-scale investors add to the pool of available rentals, which can ease competition and moderate costs.
In other words, when investment is welcomed and new units are built, families benefit directly through lower costs and more options.
What does this all mean?
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Well, instead of seeing its role as one of restricting market activity, the Trump administration should view its job as one of increasing it. Because the only way to solve an affordable housing shortage is to build and invest more.
One approach could be to catalyze reform at the state and local level by making some programs and grants conditional on removing artificial limitations on construction, such as outdated zoning restrictions that prohibit multifamily development in high-demand areas.
Another could be to streamline federal permitting for infrastructure projects that support housing, such as roads, utilities and transit. These projects frequently get delayed and become more costly or less likely to get constructed as they languish, and streamlining would encourage builders to construct more.
The White House has already prioritized enacting economic policies that have freed workers and businesses from unnecessary burdens – ending taxes on tips and overtime, reducing red tape, and promoting growth through opportunity. Housing deserves the same treatment: less government interference and more room for private investment.
This approach has worked before. Federal leaders just need to let it work again.
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A stand-up comedian is set to face criminal charges in the first case filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s newly created Business Tax Fraud Unit, officials announced Thursday.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the defendant is comedian and actor Carlos Mencia. District Attorney Nathan Hochman is scheduled to announce the charges during a 2 p.m. news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles.
Officials have not yet disclosed the nature of the charges.
The prosecution marks the first case brought by the Business Tax Fraud Unit, a specialized division created under Hochman’s administration to investigate and prosecute tax-related crimes involving businesses.
Mencia, whose real name is Ned Arnel Mencia, rose to fame through his stand-up comedy career and as the host of the Comedy Central series Mind of Mencia.
The comedian has previously faced tax-related issues. In 2021, reports indicated that the Internal Revenue Service filed liens against three properties he owned in Georgia over more than $1 million in unpaid federal income taxes.
The District Attorney’s Office said Thursday’s announcement will be streamed live on its social media platforms.
No additional information about the case was immediately available Thursday morning.
KTLA will update this story following the district attorney’s announcement.
Multiple people were arrested after local and federal law enforcement agents descended upon L.A.’s MacArthur Park to carry out a nighttime narcotics enforcement operation.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) descended on the park at around 9 p.m.
Among the personnel who arrived at the scene was First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who joined authorities in overseeing the operation.
In a statement, LAPD said officers were “assisting our federal partners in a joint narcotics enforcement operation in the MacArthur Park area. This operation is focused solely on drug-related criminal activity. There is no connection to immigration enforcement.”
More than 100 law enforcement members were involved, including around 60 DEA agents and 55 LAPD officers. As officers converged on the park, many people were seen running away.
Six people were eventually taken into custody for felony drug charges.
Officials told KTLA’s Jillian Smukler that they intentionally waited until nightfall after frustrated business owners said that most of the visible drug activity occurred at night, following previous raids that took place much earlier in the day.
“We’ve been hearing that a lot of stuff has been moving to later in the day, so that’s why we’re coming out later in full force to show them that this is not a joke,” said Anthony Chrysanthis, a DEA spokesperson. “We are taking the park back for the people. This will happen. It’s going to take time, but it will happen.”
DEA agents are supporting LAPD efforts as part of a long-term strategy to eradicate a troubling increase in drug activity at MacArthur Park.
Authorities had targeted the park multiple times in the past for narcotics-related operations.
The latest incident occurred on June 4 as officers carried out a mission named “Operation Free MacArthur Park,” which involved serving arrest and search warrants in the area surrounding the park. Thirteen people were arrested for various offenses and officers recovered drug paraphernalia during the operation.
L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at the time that authorities were targeting the demand side of the drug trade, going after small-time drug dealers and the drug addicts who are using every day.
“I refuse to allow MacArthur Park to be a cemetery, and that’s what it’s been,” Hochman said. “Because we’ve had individual after individual after individual die of drug overdoses, so much so that the local fire department spends much more time trying to revive people with Narcan who are on death’s door than they do putting out fires in this area.”
Authorities told KTLA they will maintain a presence at the park and work to eliminate all drug activity, allowing the park to be a safe place for residents and visitors.
“We remain committed to keeping our communities safe and informed as this operation continues,” LAPD said.
A California raisin company has publicly denounced alleged antisemitic and racist conduct attributed to one of its heirs following his recent arrest in Pacific Palisades.
In a statement released Wednesday, Fresno County-based Lion Raisins said recent reports involving Bruce Lion, who was arrested last week on suspicion of making criminal threats, “do not reflect the values of Lion Raisins.”
“Recent reports about the conduct of Bruce Lion are deeply troubling and do not reflect the values of Lion Raisins,” a company spokesperson said in the statement. “We unequivocally condemn antisemitism, racism, and all forms of hate, discrimination, and intolerance.”
The statement comes days after Bruce Lion, 64, was arrested following allegations that he repeatedly directed antisemitic and racist remarks toward a rabbi neighbor in Pacific Palisades.
As previously reported, Rabbi Zushe Cunin accused Lion of harassing him and members of his congregation for months after Lion purchased a neighboring home earlier this year. Published reports cited videos that allegedly showed Lion shouting antisemitic slurs from his property and disrupting religious gatherings.
Lion Raisins emphasized Wednesday that Bruce Lion “does not actively participate in the company’s day-to-day operations.”
The company, which has operated for more than a century, said it remains committed to serving a diverse community of employees, growers, customers and business partners “with respect, dignity, and inclusiveness.”
“These principles are core to our culture and to the way we do business,” the statement said.
The company also said it recognizes concerns generated by the allegations and expressed support for those who may have been affected.
“We remain committed to fostering understanding and respect among all communities and to ethical conduct, mutual respect, and responsible corporate citizenship,” the statement continued.
Bruce Lion was arrested early Saturday and booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, according to law enforcement records.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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