The 100-Year-Old Bank That Could Solve Our Housing Crisis

Mr. Hughes is an economist and the author of “Marketcrafters: The 100-Year Struggle to Shape the American Economy.”

Right now, congressional leaders continue to wrangle over the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, a bipartisan effort to lower housing costs by making it easier to build. But while such legislation is urgently needed, there’s a way to build more homes without extensive new regulation or funding.

America is short at least four million homes. The typical first-time buyer is 40 years old, a decade older than in 2010. That........

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