President Trump says he wants to drive housing prices up, not down

WASHINGTON − Amid growing affordability concerns across the nation, President Donald Trump said he is looking to drive housing prices further up, not down.

Trump said at a Thursday Cabinet meeting he wants to make it easier for Americans to buy homes, but not by making housing less expensive. Instead, he suggested lower interest rates he expects from his upcoming pick to lead the Federal Reserve will allow more Americans to buy homes even as housing prices rise.

“I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes,” Trump said. “And they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen.”

Trump has been rolling out several policy proposals and actions aimed at addressing affordability and housing as Americans continue to express cost-of-living concerns. That includes a Jan. 20 executive order banning institutional investors from buying single-family homes in a push to expand home ownership. The Trump administration is also purchasing mortgage-backed securities to lower mortgage rates.

Yet Trump made clear in his meeting with Cabinet secretaries that greater opportunities to buy homes shouldn’t mean lowering costs, even as Americans voice concerns about the price tag to buy a home.

“Existing housing, people that own their homes, we’re going to keep them wealthy,” Trump said. “We’re going to keep those prices up. We’re not going to destroy the value of their homes so that somebody who didn’t work very hard can buy a home.

“We’re going to make it easier to buy,” the president added. “We’re going to get interest rates down. But I want to protect the people who, for the first time in their lives, feel good about themselves. They feel like, you know, that they’re wealthy people.”

Housing prices rose in November 0.6% over the previous month, according to the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency’s most recent monthly report, released Tuesday. The median home price nationally soared to a record $433,000 in November 2025, according to the real estate company Redfin. Zillow projects housing prices to increase by 1.9% in 2026.

Housing prices remain elevated relative to income growth after adjusting for inflation, pushing homeownership out of reach for many Americans. The housing market is considered stagnant amid a national housing shortage, especially at the lower end of the market.

Trump last week said he opposes a plan endorsed by his White House economic team that would allow Americans to use retirement savings from their 401(k) accounts to make down payments on homes.

Trump told his Cabinet he intends to announce his ⁠nominee as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve next week. For the past year, Trump has criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for refusing to aggressively lower interest rates as Trump has demanded. Powell’s term as Fed chairman ends in May.