Real estate veteran calls on Trump, warns housing market has reached a state of ’emergency’

The American housing market is in a dire position and one real estate veteran would even call it an “emergency.”

Dan Coakley is a Property Markets Group Affordable principal, and he got his start in the business at Lehman Brothers. With his industry knowledge, he believes it’s time for President Donald Trump’s administration to finally call out what’s going on in the housing market.

“I think for sure we’re in a national housing emergency. I think we’ve been here for some time,” Coakley told Fox News Digital. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s right on time. If you look back over the last 10-plus years where there’s been a housing emergency, no White House has really taken ownership of this issue, despite the fact that, in my view, it’s probably the most important issue out there in the political realm and in the realm of what’s most meaningful in the lives of everyday people.”

“Everywhere you look, the data is bad,” he added.

This comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Washington Examiner that the administration is mulling over a national housing emergency declaration, as the supply of housing continues to wane and costs rise.

“The 25-year-plus real estate veteran noted that during his career, median rents have risen 21% while median income has increased only 2% in that same time, and 40% of U.S. households pay more than 30% of their take-home pay on housing costs,” Fox Business reported. 

“In terms of how the White House or the administration is framing the issue… I would commend them highly on raising this issue to the top of the list of priorities. Whether you’re a supporter of the president or not a supporter, I think we can all see that he’s willing to try different approaches and even willing to fail, and that’s kind of the mindset that’s needed at this time of a crisis, which has been ongoing now for several years,” Coakley said. “You need an approach by an administration who’s willing to try different things and throw different resources at the issue to try to make a dent in it, and ultimately get to a point where you can take strain off people.”

He also gave three recommendations that he believes will pull the housing market back from the brink: Funding, tariff relief and zoning reform.

“You can put more money toward the issue, which certainly is needed. The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ actually did a great job of allocating significantly more tax credits, I think a 13% increase to the states, which is really the primary source of funding for affordable housing development,” he explained. “Reductions or elimination in tariffs on certain key materials… timber, lumber… gypsum… glass. You can also reduce other kind[s] of non-economic barriers to development.”

Young people are effectively being pushed out of the real estate market in the United States and there are multiple factors at play, Coakley said.

“Young people, first-time homebuyers can’t afford to buy homes, not only because interest rates are so high, but because median wages have not caught up with costs. The housing market affects everybody… in the lower income, middle income, upper-middle income. And all these people are suffering as a result of this. And I just wish that Fed policy and interest rate policy would consider the impact on, actually, a larger group of people.”

Writer/Columnist

Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to BizPac Review.

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