03/14/2026
Thank you President Trump!
President Trump signed the Executive Order titled "Removing Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Home Construction" on March 13, 2026.
- HUD Secretary Scott Turner's post uses a simple equation to argue that excessive regulations inflate construction costs and restrict housing supply, resulting in unaffordable new home prices, and urges removing barriers to increase availability.
- The attached FRED chart illustrates U.S. median new home sales prices climbing from about $170,000 in 2000 to over $450,000 by 2025, underscoring the trend of escalating costs amid stagnant supply growth.
- Peer-reviewed research, including a 2014 NBER study, confirms regulations raise house prices by 10-20% and reduce construction elasticity, supporting Turner's deregulation push while noting local zoning as a primary culprit.