Tuesday evening, President Donald Trump addressed the nation in his first State of the Union address.
As expected, the president touched on topics such as recently passed tax reform, and the ongoing immigration debate. Now, many experts in the housing industry are applauding the president’s address.
“President Trump said ‘America is a nation of builders’ and the nation's home builders wholeheartedly agree,” said Randy Noel, National Association of Home Builders chairman. “The president knows that housing and homeownership are critical to a strong and prosperous nation. We commend him for working tirelessly to reduce unnecessary regulations that hurt small business owners and impede a more robust housing recovery.”
“And we strongly support the president's call for more vocational schools to train young workers and prepare them for careers in the construction trades and other industries,” Noel said. “Moreover, the landmark tax reform law championed by President Trump will keep housing and the economy moving forward and put more money into the pockets of middle class households, and that's good for housing. NAHB looks forward to working with the White House to continue to promote policies that will spur job and economic growth and promote homeownership and rental housing opportunities for all Americans.”
And Ben Carson, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, agreed the president’s speech was positive, saying tax reform is continually helping drive HUD-assisted households to greater self-efficiency.
“Our people are America’s greater resource, and no one understands that better than the president, that’s why he has prioritized creating opportunity for all Americans,” Carson said. “The president’s tax reform plan is energizing the economy giving HUD-assisted households increased opportunity to graduate from government assistance and achieve self-sufficiency”
But realtor.com pointed out that while Trump’s claimed the economy is booming, low levels of affordability and rising home prices continue to plague the housing market.
“The strength of the American economy was a prevalent theme throughout President Trump's State of the Union address this evening,” the company stated. “In the past year, job growth and stock market gains continued their upward trajectory that began during the recovery years. This growth added economic stability and confidence for consumers to consider home ownership.”
“At the same time, home affordability is the lowest it has been in nearly a decade with home prices growing three times faster than household income since 2011,” the company continued. “Although these factors will leave many potential buyers, especially first timers and low income households, priced out of home ownership, the recently passed tax plan is designed to give corporations and small businesses a boost. The plan has the potential to increase disposable income to some and generate a significant number of jobs, particularly in local economies with strong manufacturing sectors, but it has yet to be seen whether that will translate into the broader wage growth needed to close the gap with home prices.”
