ICYMI: “Trump State of the Union Offers Few Housing Details”

Read “Trump State of the Union Offers Few Housing Details” by Neil Pierson

President Donald Trump delivered the annual State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night and touched on a wide variety of economic topics. But he barely mentioned ways to make housing more affordable for everyday Americans.

Housing professionals expected the speech to include subjects like mortgage rates, affordable homeownership and a slew of housing policy directives issued since Trump’s second term began in January 2025. But aside from some brief comments about tariff policies and the administration’s recent actions against corporate homebuyers, there were few tea leaves for the industry to read.

“Affordability is front and center for Americans across the country who are feeling the strain of rising housing costs,” Sarah Brundage, president and CEO of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders (NAAHL), said in a statement released prior to the State of the Union address.

“Expanding homeownership is a goal worth championing. But more than a third of American households rent, and their ability to afford a stable home is just as essential to a strong workforce and a thriving economy. A productive housing agenda serves everyone, renters and future and current homeowners alike.”

Shannon McGahn, chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors, echoed what was expected to be a theme of the speech: “housing affordability has emerged as one of the few truly bipartisan issues in Washington.”

Mortgage Rates

The president talked about inflation and tax cuts, but only mentioned mortgage rates one time. “Low interest rates will solve the Biden-created housing problem while at the same time protecting the values of those people who already own a house, that really feel rich for the first time in their lives. We want to keep those values up. We’re gonna do both,” Trump said.

The president could have highlighted how much mortgage rates have improved in 2026. Mortgage rates fell this week to their lowest level since September 2022, according to HousingWire‘s Mortgage Rates Center. And monthly mortgage payments were down 7.5% year over year in December, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Mortgage refinance applications also surged 132% year over year during the week ending Feb. 13, the MBA reported, a signal that homeowners are locking in lower rates and saving thousands of dollars per year. And while single-family inventory growth has slowed in recent months, it’s still up 9% from a year ago, indicative that buyers in many parts of the country have more choices and less competition.

In January, Trump directed the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities in an effort to further lower mortgage rates.

Banning Big Investors

The president talked about a woman in the audience as an example of how consumers had to compete with big institutional investors, saying that she had lost out on 20 different homes to institutional investors who paid all cash. Trump signed an executive order in January to restrict institutional investors from buying single-family homes, although industry experts have noted that corporate homebuyers represent about 2% of all home sales.

“Now I am asking Congress to make that ban permanent, because homes are for people, not corporations,” Trump said Tuesday night.

Immigration and Housing

While Trump spent time talking about illegal immigration, he did not mention it in the context of housing. Last year, the Trump administration barred nonresident citizens from securing mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) as it sought to ensure financing resources were directed to U.S. citizens.

Administration officials also ended the Obama-era Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, a law that was originally intended as an extension of the Fair Housing Act but was deemed “onerous” by Trump officials.

Tariffs

Early in his speech Trump brought up the Supreme Court ruling against the tariffs he imposed in April 2025. Trump’s “Liberation Day” initiated global tariffs on countless imported products, including key homebuilding materials such as steel, lumber and aluminum. Homebuilders countered by fighting for exemptions, some of which were successful. But the true cost of tariffs has remained uncertain, with a report by the Center for American Progress forecasting $17,500 in additional costs to build a new home as a result of tariff policies.

The Supreme Court overturned the tariffs last week, saying the president overstepped his authority by initiating them under a law intended for national emergencies.

Trump on Tuesday called it an “unfortunate ruling” and vowed to keep the tariffs in place.

“The good news is that almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made, knowing that the legal power that I as president have to make a new deal could be far worse for them,” Trump said.

Bipartisan Housing Legislation

Housing issues may have gotten little attention during the State of the Union speech, but housing groups like the NAAHL say they’re ready to act on bipartisan housing legislation under consideration in Congress, including the Senate‘s ROAD to Housing Act and the House‘s Housing for the 21st Century Act.

“Additionally, Congress should take up the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, which would immediately help spur construction and renovation of affordable starter homes for owner-occupancy,” Brundage said. “These bills have broad support. What they need now is urgency.”