Housing Affordability Becomes Debate Topic in 2024 Presidential Election

Mortgage rates have become an increasingly cumbersome issue for American households and presidential candidates are taking notice. According to housing market platform Realtor.com, the housing affordability crisis will be a key issue for voters this year as median list prices are up 28% since the start of 2021 and the home price-to-income ratio reached a record high of nearly 6-to-1 in 2024, up from 4.1-to-1 in 2019. Because of this, presidential candidates are bringing the topic to the forefront of their campaigns.

In March, President Joe Biden delivered a speech on home prices in the key swing state of Nevada after proposing a $10,000 tax credit for first-time buyers and those selling their starter homes.

Donald Trump fired back in a campaign video, accusing Biden of “waging full-scale war on the suburbs” that would decimate home values by expanding affordable housing options.

In addition to Nevada, the election will come down to just six other swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Trump won all of them but Nevada in 2016, while Biden carried all but North Carolina in 2020. Neither candidate can win this year’s election without taking at least three of the swing states, unless the electoral map changes dramatically before November.

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