The president of the National Association of Realtors is urging federal, state and local policymakers to go further on housing policy, arguing that recent efforts to expand homeownership have not kept pace with the scale of the affordability problem. The call comes as housing inventory remains tight, mortgage rates stay elevated and first-time buyers are older than ever.
A national poll of voters commissioned by the association found that 85% of respondents now say owning a home is part of the American Dream, up from 79% in 2013. The association says the financial stakes are clear: homeowners have 40 times the net worth of renters, and home equity and retirement accounts represent more than 60% of the net worth of American households.
The housing market has shifted dramatically in the past decade. Ten years ago, there were about 1.65 million homes available for sale and buyers could lock in mortgage rates near 3.7%. Today, inventory stands at about 1.18 million homes, despite the U.S. population growing by roughly 20 million people during that time. Mortgage rates are now hovering above 6%. The association’s 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers puts the median age of a first-time buyer at 40, the highest on record.
The association was a strong supporter of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, describing it as the kind of comprehensive action needed to expand the dream of homeownership. The measure, a package of nearly 50 individual bills, is designed to give communities new tools and resources to plan and build for growth, streamline federal processes that delay construction, and update financing options for manufactured and rural housing. The association argues, however, that there is no quick fix and that the path forward depends on confronting the full set of forces shaping the housing market, including financing, supply, insurance costs, zoning restrictions and access to inventory.
The group has opposed rent control measures, saying they discourage investment and limit housing supply. It worked with state and industry partners to defeat a statewide rent control ballot measure in Massachusetts, advocating instead for policies that expand housing availability and improve long-term affordability.
The association is also pressing to update capital gains exclusion thresholds, which have not been adjusted in nearly 30 years or indexed to inflation. The group warns that more middle-income Americans are being affected by what it calls the Home Equity Tax and are choosing to stay in their homes, leaving fewer options for first-time buyers and driving prices higher. It argues that modernizing those thresholds would unlock existing housing supply and is one of the fastest ways to put more homes on the market.
For the association’s president, the issue is personal. He recalled that his father faced redlining and discriminatory covenants, but used homeownership and real estate investment to build intergenerational wealth. That foundation helped expand what was possible for the family, he said, and he and his brother followed their father into the real estate business. He also noted that his own children are in their 20s and that he knows the struggles of first-time buyers trying to enter a market with too few affordable homes.
The broader economy is tied to the health of the housing market, the association notes. Real estate represents nearly one-fifth of U.S. gross domestic product, and each home sale produces about $125,310 in local economic impact.
