Democrats Have to Come Up With a Plan to Make Real Estate Affordable Again
by John Lawrence
In the end Trump's and Musk's blitzkrieg may end up being a bunch of sound and fury signifying nothing. However, there is a lesson here for Democrats. They need to have a couple of bullet points and a well thought out plan that they can execute or start executing on Day 1 of the next Presidential election, and they need to start hammering on it now. This is exactly what Trump did. He hammered for four years in his campaign rallies on MAGA before the election of 2024. The major bullet point should be Make Housing Affordable Again. This is the Number One economic problem in the US, and is something that government can and should do something about. There are a number of ways to do this. Kamala's plan for down payment assistance is one. But a much larger effort is needed and it should be ready to go on Day One of a new Democratic administration in 2028.
The Federal government can also give much more than down payment assistance. It can provide much or all of the capital to pay for the home with the understanding that, when the home is sold, the government will be paid back. It can facilitate the transfer of equity that parents or grandparents may have in their homes to children to be used for their home in much the same way that a reverse mortgage works. That is equity in a home can be transferred from an older generation to a younger generation in such a way that there is no increase in expenses for the older generation. There are private companies that do much the same thing right now. It is called Home Equity Investment. They will take an equity position in a home in such a way that when the home is eventually sold the company will get a percentage of the profits. At the same time they provide the homeowner with a bunch of cash which can be used to help a child buy their own home. This is different from a HELOC- a Home Equity Line of Credit - in which monthly payments have to be made. A HEI doesn't require monthly payments.Democrats should get involved in this and other creative aspects in a big way and have well thought out plans that they can implement on Day One of a new Democratic administration.
Another idea is that government could let contracts to builders and developers to build affordable housing. Biden's Infrastructure and Jobs Act provided $547–715 billion for building and repairing infrastructure in the US which was and is very necessary. A similar act to build affordable housing could be implemented. It would also create thousands of jobs. These houses could be built in such a way as to be climate change resistant. These various ideas could be fleshed out in a document similar to Project 2025. The point is to have plans to make real estate affordable and to make this the Number One bullet point for Democrats in 2026 and 2028. Secondary bullet points could be taxing the rich and giving tax breaks to the middle class, enhancing social security and providing money for child care and elder care.
