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How Democrats and Republicans Created—and Can Fix—America's Housing Crisis

Writer's picture: Ronan NauertRonan Nauert
Sep 17, 20244 min read

When my teenage friends and I think about the future, we often find ourselves daunted by current housing prices. Research shows we aren't alone. One in ten Gen Zers believe they will never own a home, and with millennials, that number grows to one in five. So, how did housing get this expensive, and what can we do to lower costs?

Well, it’s worth pointing out the obvious: both parties have created this mess, and neither seems fully prepared to fix it.


On paper, Democrats would seem to be the right party to make housing more affordable, but in practice, many of the most Progressive cities in the country are where the housing affordability crisis is most acute.


Take California as an example. In California, Democrats have made it incredibly difficult to build housing by putting in place environmental regulations that make it hard to build enough housing, and demonstrated a phony elitist liberalism, rejecting new housing projects, with a “Not in my Backyard” (NIMBY) attitude.


Republicans haven't been much better. Many Republicans hold a similar NIMBY attitude and see investments in housing as a waste of money.


So, it is fair to say that the housing crisis we face is the fault of both parties, but there has also been a recent movement among both parties towards a “Yes in my Backyard” (YIMBY) approach towards housing. 


A YIMBY approach to housing requires legislators to embrace policies that are not typically in line with the policies of their respective parties. For Liberals, this means reconsidering progressivism, reducing red tape, and weakening some environmental regulations to make it easier to build homes. For Conservatives, this means reconsidering the NIMBY, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality, supporting affordable housing projects, and supporting public transportation.


But, the largest basin of opposition to YIMBYism comes not from the ideological left or right. It largely comes from wealthy suburbanites who benefit from restrictive zoning laws that strain affordable housing.


It is human nature to want to protect what is yours, but this opposition from the most well-off is about more than simply housing. By blocking new development, wealthy suburbanites are exacerbating racial segregation, income equality, and housing prices. While increased housing prices may hurt most of us, for rich people with large houses, this only drives up their net worth, meaning that while everyone else suffers, they only get richer, which then increases income inequality.


After all of this, it would be easy to find yourself alarmed, but there is good news. In America, it seems that we are moving away from the NIMBY politics of the last few decades and moving toward a people-centered YIMBY approach to housing. The same housing crisis that was caused just as much by Democrats as Republicans is now the same crisis that has united both parties to build more homes.


This new approach can be seen most clearly in ruby-red Montana, where housing costs have skyrocketed. In Montana, the Republican Governor, Greg Gianforte, passed a series of housing bills that made building housing easier and effectively ended single-family housing zoning. These YIMBY-style bills brought together a unique bipartisan alliance of different stakeholders in a fashion that is rarely seen in modern politics.

While Montana may be the most well-known example of YIMBYism, it is not the only state to embrace YIMBY policies. States across the country from California, to Vermont, to my home state of Oregon have passed similar legislation.


While housing may have become a bipartisan issue, it seems that only one presidential candidate is serious about lowering housing costs.


Donald Trump may persistently complain about housing prices in America, but he seems to have no real plan for housing. On the contrary, a Trump Presidency would likely make an already costly housing market even more expensive. Trump’s proposed tariffs, which are widely believed to increase inflation, if implemented, could vastly increase the amount of money it takes to build a house, which would then be passed on to consumers.


On the other hand, Vice President Kamala Harris has embraced a set of YIMBY policies that will move America forward and increase the supply of affordable housing. Harris’s housing plan starts with a simple truth: we don't have enough homes. But the Vice President isn't just talking about the housing crisis, she has pledged to take action, saying she will build 3 million new homes in 4 years. But that isn't it. Harris has proposed expanding a tax credit to home builders to incentivize them to build starter homes to meet this goal. On the demand side, the Vice President has proposed a $25,000 tax credit to help first-time homebuyers afford a house.


The housing crisis we face in America is crushing families, worsening income inequality, inflaming homelessness, and is an existential threat to America’s future. 


The good news is that this problem can be fixed. 


To fix this problem, we will need courageous and innovative political leaders. I truly hope that we can turn the page on the endless suburban sprawl that has become the cornerstone of American society and embrace a new era of American housing that embraces not just single-family homes, but also, townhouses, condominiums, apartments, and all other types of housing. 


Both parties got us into this crisis, will they also get us out of it?


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