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President Donald Trump pledged on the 2024 campaign trail to “end inflation” and bring down housing costs “with the goal of cutting the cost of a new home in half.” That messaging, which resonated with swing voters frustrated with inflation, helped propel Trump back into the White House.

Nearly a year into his term, Trump’s approval ratings have hit new lows as he calls the continuing affordability crisis a “Democrat hoax.” Now, as the president is attempting to deliver a positive economic message ahead of the midterms, he’s turned his eye to the costliest necessity — and one of the most complicated: housing.

In November, experts panned Trump’s initial housing proposal for 50-year mortgages backed by the government as a policy “gimmick.” In a social media post on January 7, Trump announced his latest idea, a vague proposal to prohibit wealthy corporations and other “institutional investors” from buying up more single-family homes in order to lower costs and free up supply for first-time buyers.

“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream,” wrote Trump, who went on to blame inflation on Democrats and former President Joe Biden.

Private equity firms and real estate corporations have increasingly invested in single-family homes over the past decade, particularly since 2020. They often use them as vehicles for rental income, which can reduce housing stock and increase prices for first-time homebuyers. Trump’s plan comes with a nifty slogan — “People live in homes, not corporations” — but experts say the proposal would do little to bring down costs without additional reforms.

“It’s mostly a distraction from the fact that he has done numerous things to make the housing situation much worse in this country,” said Shamus Roller, executive director of the National Housing Law Project, in an interview with Truthout.

Experts have largely suggested the housing affordability crisis is primarily driven by demand outpacing supply, with the U.S. facing an........

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