Housing Roundup #13: More Dakka

In a striking moment from a Davos speech, Donald Trump made explicit what many politicians leave unsaid: building more housing would lower prices, but he opposes that because it would hurt existing homeowners. 'Every time you make it more affordable for somebody to own a house cheaply, you are actually hurting the value of those houses. I don’t want to do anything to hurt the value of their house,' he said. This blunt admission frames housing as a zero-sum game between young renters and older property owners.

Economists note the fallacy in his reasoning: allowing more units on the same land increases land value while reducing per-unit price—a net benefit for most homeowners. But Trump’s stance highlights a deeper political reality: many politicians prioritize protecting the asset wealth of older voters over enabling affordability for younger generations. The housing crisis persists not because solutions don't exist, but because those in power actively choose not to implement them.