As Scott Turner, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), awaits Senate confirmation, America faces a critical housing affordability crisis. During his confirmation hearing, Turner explained, “We have a housing crisis in our country. We need millions of homes.”
But to solve the housing crisis, Turner must prioritize deregulation, streamline HUD’s budget and expand Opportunity Zones to stimulate private investment and address the housing shortage directly.
America’s housing shortage is staggering. Studies estimate that the country needs over 3.8 million additional homes to meet demand. Skyrocketing rents and housing prices have put immense pressure on working families, low-income households and first-time homebuyers.
Government is a big part of the problem. On the first day of his new term, Trump issued an executive order, Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost of Living Crisis. In it he notes that high housing prices are “in part due to regulatory requirements that alone account for 25% of the cost of constructing a new home according to recent analysis.”
In Turner’s confirmation hearing, there was bipartisan agreement that one of the root causes of the nation’s housing affordability crisis is a housing shortage.
“As a country, we’re not building enough housing,” Turner said in his opening statement before the committee. “We need millions more homes of all kinds, single family, apartments, condos, duplexes, manufactured housing, you name it, so individuals and families can have a roof over their heads and a place to call home.”
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota told Turner, “I think you and I agree that the United States needs to add many more homes across the whole spectrum, and we need to increase the supply that’s going to help lower rent… it’s basic supply and demand.”
Because home ownership is the primary driver of household wealth and 73.8% of white Americans own homes compared to just 45.9% of black Americans, the lack of affordable housing emphasizes how this crisis disproportionately affects black families. This is not just a housing crisis, it’s a barrier to economic mobility that requires immediate and comprehensive action.
“We all know homeownership is the path to wealth creation in this country. It’s one of the reasons we have a 10 to one racial wealth gap, Black to White,” noted Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner to Turner during the hearing.
As the leader of a $72 billion federal agency, Turner’s approach to these challenges will determine whether HUD can fulfill its mission of providing affordable, safe and sustainable housing.
Besides deregulation, Turner’s view on HUD’s budget presents another novel approach to running this department. “We must maximize the budget we have,” Turner said, signaling his intention to focus on program effectiveness rather than expanding federal spending. This put him at odds with Democratic senators, including Elizabeth Warren, who believe that increasing spending will be critical to meeting reducing prices.
Yet, increasing spending isn’t always the solution. In fact, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, rising land and construction costs have put pressure on programs like HUD’s Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program, with costs increasing significantly in recent years.
Instead of expanding budgets, Turner advocates for streamlining and refocusing existing resources to ensure more efficient use of taxpayer dollars. This approach could encourage better outcomes, especially when combined with targeted regulatory changes to reduce barriers for affordable housing development.
Another proposal Turner has put forward to encourage economic growth, increase wages and make housing more affordable is the expansion of Opportunity Zones.
Opportunity Zones are designated areas where private businesses are incentivized with tax breaks to invest in historically underserved communities. These incentives foster job creation, support local businesses and encourage entrepreneurship. The program, introduced through the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, aims to revitalize economically distressed neighborhoods by attracting private investment to areas with high poverty rates and lower median incomes.
Turner has seen the benefits of these zones firsthand during his time as executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council.
In that role, Turner worked closely with stakeholders to promote the growth of Opportunity Zones, which have helped generate billions in capital for underserved communities. In the first two years of the program, these zones raised $75 billion, creating thousands of jobs and lifting many out of poverty. This success has been particularly evident in areas with high concentrations of black and Hispanic households, where the economic challenges are most pronounced.
Expanding Opportunity Zones could provide a significant boost to economic mobility for marginalized communities, helping families build wealth and access homeownership opportunities. By increasing private sector investment in these areas, Turner sees the potential for long-term economic revitalization, which can make housing more affordable, raise wages and reduce poverty.
Turner’s approach to addressing the housing crisis, with a focus on deregulation, efficient resource use and the expansion of Opportunity Zones, offers a comprehensive strategy for revitalizing underserved communities and making housing more affordable for all Americans.
Donna Jackson is on the Board of Advisors for Our America and is the director of membership development for the Project 21 black leadership network.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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