The US is facing a housing crisis due to a shortage of housing in the places where people want to live, which is driving up prices and pushing people out, and requires bold and evidence-based action to increase supply and make housing more affordable.
As the American housing crisis worsens, policymakers, advocates, and residents are considering bold solutions such as public ownership, rent control, and social housing to address the failures of the private housing market.
Despite years of criticism, California’s state housing laws have been successful in encouraging cities to build more homes, as evidenced by the recent progress made in San Diego County cities such as Encinitas, Del Mar, and San Marcos.
The traditional narrative of red-state cities being the antidote to the coastal housing affordability crisis is breaking down, as cities like Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Austin, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Boise, and Salt Lake City are experiencing rapid price growth, worsening traffic, and local pushback against new development, due to the physical and economic limits of sprawl.
The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee voted unanimously to advance the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, a comprehensive federal housing package that addresses the nation’s escalating housing crisis by increasing housing supply, reducing regulatory barriers, modernizing financing systems, improving rural and manufactured housing access, and enhancing oversight and accountability.
The Trump administration is dismantling programs that protect vulnerable families from housing discrimination, while New York’s housing crisis continues to worsen, leaving thousands of people technically housed but living in overcrowded and doubled-up homes.
The housing crisis in California is causing large numbers of people to be priced out of the communities where they work, resulting in systemic failures such as increased traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, and regional strain on both infrastructure and affordability.
Senators Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren have introduced the Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill aimed at increasing access to affordable housing, reducing homelessness, expanding homeownership, and encouraging local zoning reform.
The Identifying Regulatory Barriers to Housing Supply Act has been introduced by a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers to address outdated zoning and permitting regulations that are hindering the construction of new rental housing and contributing to the nation’s affordability crisis.
Democrats are embracing an abundance agenda, which focuses on building more housing, transit, and clean energy, but critics warn that it risks enabling corporate capture and exacerbating inequality if not paired with mechanisms to ensure affordability, equity, and democratic accountability.
Homeownership is becoming unaffordable for many, including full-time professionals, due to a housing affordability crisis caused by a systemic failure in housing policy, not personal financial mismanagement, and the mismatch between housing supply and economic opportunity.
Key points: For over fifty years, the California Environmental Quality Act—CEQA—stood as a pillar of the state’s…
The American housing market is broken, and increasing the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 will only exacerbate the problem, while a new vision of housing that values stability over speculation, homes over assets, and access over appreciation is needed to fix affordability.
California’s housing reforms are being threatened by a federal immigration crackdown, which could lead to a shortage of skilled workers and a delay in the construction of new homes.
Los Angeles has seen a 17.5% reduction in street homelessness in the past year, with the city’s Inside Safe initiative and other efforts being credited for the progress, but advocacy groups caution that the crisis remains severe and systemic change is still needed.
Former President Barack Obama has urged Democrats to stop being ideologically stuck and start building homes to address the housing crisis, while some critics argue that his previous administration’s housing response prioritized banks over borrowers and left many behind.
California is enforcing its housing laws to combat the state’s housing crisis, with a recent battle in Fairfax, Marin County, testing whether a town can obstruct housing development and get away with it.
America is missing 15 million homes due to zoning codes, permitting delays, and political resistance, which have effectively closed off the suburban growth engine and led to rising housing costs, displacement, and homelessness.
American cities are becoming increasingly divided, with wealth concentrated in certain areas while poverty is entrenched in others, and the housing crisis is not just a supply problem but a moral one that requires realignment of housing with opportunity.
SB 79, a transit-oriented housing bill, has passed the Assembly Housing Committee and aims to increase housing supply, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and make public transit more accessible to residents by upzoning land near rail stations and frequent bus stops across California.