Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just stepped up to defend President Trump’s economic policies, specifically pushing back on the criticism that the administration wants to make housing unaffordable for new buyers, as reported by The Hill. Bessent argued that the market is actually improving, even though the president has made it clear he wants to see home prices increase for current owners.
This policy position is definitely controversial. Democratic lawmakers were absolutely blasting the president last month because he stated his desire to “drive housing prices up” for those who own their homes. President Trump was pretty blunt about his goal during a Cabinet meeting back in January. He framed the issue as protecting the wealth of current owners.
He said, “We’re not going to destroy the value of their homes so that somebody that didn’t work very hard can buy a home.” He followed that up by saying, “I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people who own their homes. And they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen.”
The administration is focused on keeping homeowners “wealthy,” even if that means freezing out first-time buyers and those who haven’t yet entered the market
Bessent, however, is arguing that the current economic data paints a much better picture, suggesting that the administration’s actions are helping improve affordability metrics despite the president’s stated goal of increasing prices. He told the public that President Trump is “laser-focused on the housing market, and things have gotten better.”
He pointed out several factors that should be helping potential buyers right now. We’ve actually hit a three-year low in mortgage rates. The Federal Reserve has also lowered rates twice recently. Bessent noted that the 10-year yield is down, and importantly, the spread between Treasury bonds and mortgage rates has compressed.
The Secretary even claimed that the amount of income needed to buy the average house has dropped by about 4 percent, and nationally, rent prices are coming down too. If those numbers hold up, that’s a serious win for affordability and suggests the market is naturally correcting itself in a way that helps new buyers, regardless of the president’s stated aim to preserve homeowner wealth.
Interestingly, this whole debate is happening while Congress is trying to fix the affordability crisis from a different angle. Just this Monday, the House passed a comprehensive, bipartisan housing package by a wide margin. That package is specifically aimed at tackling the American affordability crisis and increasing homeownership. It’s expected that senators will make some modifications to the legislation, but it shows there’s a strong push in Washington to make things easier for those who don’t already own property.
This isn’t the first time the president has dealt with affordability issues. During the 2024 campaign, President Trump often blamed the previous administration for high prices on everyday goods like bacon, cereal, and crackers. Now, the scrutiny is focused squarely on his own administration’s stance, which seems to prioritize the equity of existing owners over the accessibility for new buyers.
Published: Feb 12, 2026 11:30 am