Should Voldemort sell public land to ease the housing crisis?

There are several other reasons we don't have affordable housing choices. Top of the list is high interest rates (which massively increase the cost of ownership). There's also a big shortage of skilled construction labor. Ironically, the huge influx of illegals will help ease this as a large portion will end up in that industry.

Trump Can Sell Public Land to Build a Million Homes

Sen. Mike Lee’s plan didn’t go anywhere, but the president has discretion to act on his own.

By Edward Pinto and Arthur Gailes, WSJ

July 1, 2025 5:25 pm ET

Congress blew a historic chance to ease the American West’s 2.8-million-home shortage through its “one big beautiful bill.” Sen. Mike Lee proposed selling underused federal land for housing development in 11 states. But opposition stirred up by distortions of the plan caused the Utah senator to pull his proposal from the reconciliation bill over the weekend. Yet even though Congress dropped the ball, President Trump can still give one million Western families a chance at the American dream of homeownership.

The underlying economics haven’t changed. Federal agencies control vast vacant acreage that is constraining the growth of many Western cities. The shortage of developable land drives up housing prices, putting homeownership out of reach for working families. The good news: Because the federal government owns so much land, selling a mere 0.05% of property managed by the Bureau of Land Management would do enormous good for people struggling to afford homes in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and other states.

Mr. Lee got the policy right. Directing the Interior Department to sell a minuscule amount of land for starter-home construction would unleash market forces to build affordable housing. Research by the American Enterprise Institute Housing Center indicates that if the government sold 0.05% of its land and designated it for starter homes on small lots, developers could build about one million homes over the next decade, at prices roughly $100,000 lower per dwelling than current new construction.

Federal law already lets the executive branch dispose of parcels to “serve important public objectives . . . including community expansion and economic development.” Of the 11 Western states with the most federal land, eight rank in the nation’s top 10 for rising home prices. When states don’t build enough housing to meet demand, families are priced out of ownership and homelessness rises. Few public objectives are more pressing.

Mr. Trump can move the ball forward—and take the political credit—by issuing an executive order directing the interior secretary to auction as much as 180 square miles of suitable federal land. He can order that the sales be completed within five years and give priority to sites near existing communities and infrastructure. Local jurisdictions can help keep costs down by fast-tracking approvals, designating smaller lot sizes and favoring more town homes, making a starter home a reasonable possibility for more middle-class American families.

With one signature, the president can open federal land, jump-start construction, and let families in Western states realize the American dream of homeownership.

Mr. Pinto is a co-director and Mr. Gailes a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Housing Center.