Tue Oct 07 04:10:00 UTC 2025: ## Trump Urges Homebuilders to Build, Blames Them for Housing Crisis
**WASHINGTON, D.C.** – President Donald Trump has publicly called on U.S. homebuilders to increase construction, accusing them of hoarding vacant lots and exacerbating the nation’s ongoing housing shortage. In a post on his Truth Social platform Sunday, the President likened the builders to OPEC, suggesting they are artificially suppressing supply to maintain high prices.
Trump claims homebuilders are sitting on 2 million empty lots, a figure he cited as a record. He urged government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to incentivize builders to start construction, aiming to “restore the American Dream” of homeownership. However, the specifics of how these companies could achieve this remain unclear.
The President’s remarks come as the housing market continues to struggle despite his campaign promises to lower borrowing costs and boost inventory. Since he took office nine months ago, home prices have continued to rise, requests for construction permits have declined, and the overall market has slowed significantly.
According to Redfin, the median home sale price in August was $439,278, a 1.5% increase from the previous year. While inventory has increased by 10.6% to over 2.1 million homes, sales are down by 2.3%, indicating an imbalance between supply and demand.
The U.S. has been grappling with a housing supply gap, estimated to be 3.8 million homes, a consequence of underbuilding following the 2008 financial crisis. Realtor.com estimates it would take 7.5 years to close this gap at the current construction rate.
The President’s criticism has met with resistance from the homebuilding industry, which cites economic uncertainty and the impact of tariffs as factors contributing to their cautious approach. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported that builder sentiment remains low, with nearly 40% of builders reducing prices and offering incentives to attract buyers. In August, housing starts plunged 8.5 percent.
“Housing affordability is hurting buyer traffic for builders, and as a result builders have slowed single-family home construction,” said NAHB chairman Buddy Hughes.
Some analysts suggest that anticipated interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve could offer a boost to the housing market. Lower mortgage rates, currently averaging 6.34%, could indirectly benefit builders by reducing borrowing costs for construction loans.
However, the ongoing federal shutdown adds another layer of uncertainty to the economic outlook. The shutdown has delayed the release of crucial job market data, making it difficult for the Federal Reserve to make informed decisions about future interest rate adjustments.
“There’s no good time for a shutdown, but this one is particularly ill-timed,” said Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick. “Losing access to the most important gauge of job creation and unemployment magnifies the uncertainty around those risks.”
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