Trump immigration policy worsens U.S. housing crisis

Part of the American dream has always been to be able to leave the cycle of constantly paying rent every month through home ownership. However, lately Americans have found this increasingly more difficult to achieve due to the severe housing shortage in the U.S. which is causing real estate prices to skyrocket to price points not affordable for everyday Americans. Unfortunately, President Trump's immigration policies are making the problem worse.

Supply does not meet demand

Currently, there is strong demand for purchasing homes however the supply of homes on the market have been woefully short of meeting this demand. In July, new housing construction starts decreased by 4.8 percent to approximately 1.16 million units which is down from 1.21 million units from the month prior, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. June had marked 25 consecutive months that inventory had fallen annually, according to HousingWire. There is a shortage of more than 3.2 million homes in the U.S., according to statistics from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) which had been reported by Huffington Post.

As a result, in accordance with simple supply and demand economics, the lack of adequate supply to meet demand is keeping would-be home buyers from being able to own homes. Affordable homes are now routinely sold after just a few days on the market in many regions of the country, according to Huffington Post.

Trump immigration policy causes labor shortage for home builders

One main factor which home builders have cited as significantly contributing to the inability to create more housing supply is the shortage of labor required for construction projects. In a recent NAHB survey home builders cited significant labor shortages in various occupations related to home construction, according to BuilderOnline.com. Many home builders claim Trump's anti-immigration policies are keeping them from being able to obtain the necessary labor which had been previously filled by foreign immigrant workers, according to Nasdaq.com. Ric Campo, the Chairman and CEO of Camden Property Trust, one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the country, recently said in a call with investors that there is a shortage of labor in every market which is causing the cost of land to rise.

This is bad news for the everyday American who is not seeing their wages rise at the rate of overall inflation and definitely not at the rate of skyrocketing home prices. Trump's crackdown on immigration and increased deportation efforts is not only tearing apart immigrant families, but is also making the American dream of owning a home much less attainable for average people in the United States.