Housing Market Fears Ripple Across Swing States

With housing becoming increasingly unaffordable, the problem has become a key issue in the 2024 presidential election.
With just two weeks left in the race, a new study found that in the seven battleground states that could matter the most, 61 percent of adults harbored concerns about whether their children could afford a home as they get older.
The survey was commissioned by Built, a real estate and construction finance and management platform, and conducted online by Talker Research. It surveyed 1,000 Americans online from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin between September 24 to September 30.
It noted that over the past five years, 80 percent of adults in these states said they had seen housing prices rise in their state, with an average increase of 33 percent—the highest being Arizona, with 38 percent and the lowest being Wisconsin, with 27 percent.
When asked whether they believed it was easier or harder to find a home now than five years ago, 58 percent answered that it was harder, particularly in Arizona and Nevada—63 percent of respondents in both states said so.
As for the driving forces behind price rises, 59 percent cited inflation, 40 percent cited rent increases, 28 percent blamed a lack of available housing, and 28 percent believed it was due to increased property tax rates.
The survey also asked respondents how much of an impact they believed the presidential election would have on the housing market for them.
More than half of respondents from Georgia (54 percent) and Michigan (51 percent) said it would have a “major impact,” while 40 percent from North Carolina and Wisconsin said it would have a “moderate” impact.
Twenty-eight percent of Pennsylvania residents said it would have “little to no” impact on the housing market in their state.
“During an election year, the spotlight on policies and promises sharpens,” said Built CEO Chase Gilbert.
“Housing costs are front and center for millions of Americans, and rightly so. The past five years have forced many to rethink their cost of living and whether homeownership is even within reach anymore—no matter which side of the aisle they’re on.”
Respondents were also asked if they felt city, state and local governments adequately addressed their housing concerns.
Nearly half (48 percent) said their city could do more, 53 percent said the same of their state government, and 57 percent said the federal government wasn’t doing enough.
As for which housing policies they would favor were they to be put into action in their local area, almost half (47 percent) favored rent controls, 45 backed caps on rent increases, and 26 percent favored multi-family housing in single-family homes and increased residential development.
The survey found support for housing proposals by both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Sixty-seven percent supported Harris’ proposal for a $25,000 first-time grant for homebuyers, and 58 percent backed the construction of three million new homes.
For Trump, 52 percent favored banning mortgages for undocumented civilians, but less than half (42 percent) backed opening federal lands for large-scale housing construction.
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