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White House Puts 10 Million-Home Shortfall at Center of Housing Strategy

The White House ties housing affordability to cutting rules that it says inflate costs.

Workers install a window on a house under construction in Richardson, Texas, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A construction worker works at a new house being built in Alhambra, California, on March 19, 2026.
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Overview

  • White House economists, in a report released Monday, estimate the U.S. is short about 10 million single-family homes because building fell off after the 2008 crash.
  • The report says a “bureaucrat tax” from codes, fees and permits adds more than $100,000 to a new home and argues that trimming these costs could enable up to 13.2 million additional homes.
  • The administration points to March executive orders and a directive for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to push mortgage rates lower and widen access to loans.
  • Economists and industry groups challenge the 10 million figure, with other estimates between roughly 1.2 million and 4 million homes and critiques of counting only owner-occupied single-family units.
  • State and local rules control most zoning and permitting, and Arizona housing experts say federal rollbacks would have limited reach because city and county decisions still determine what gets built.