Most productive Americans would agree that owning a home is a major part of achieving the ever-elusive American Dream. Owning a home gives one a stake in one’s domicile; it gives one a stake in one’s neighborhood and community. However, it is a piece of the American Dream that is increasingly out of reach for many of our younger generations.
That’s too bad. But there’s a proposal to make that a little easier by using federal lands that are adjacent to some of our urban and suburban areas to ease the housing supply crisis and thus lower prices – but there are several catches.
President Trump must follow through on his campaign pledge “to open up tracts of federal land for housing construction.”
The housing market depends largely on interest rates and zoning — factors outside any president’s direct control. But the massive federal land portfolio gives middle- and lower-income Americans a better shot at homeownership. The federal government is the nation’s biggest landowner, holding one-third of all property — a land mass six times the size of California.
Much of that federal land, of course, isn’t particularly useful for housing. It’s remote, it’s inhospitable, or otherwise not suited. But there are exceptions, and some federal land is well-placed:
In Las Vegas, Phoenix, Albuquerque and other metro areas, federal lands brush up against the suburban periphery. Since President Trump launched the idea of “Freedom Cities” on federal land, the opening of federal lands for development has entered the policy mainstream. House Budget Committee Republicans have floated the sale of federal lands as an option for closing the deficit.
We should look at any proposal to sell these lands outright with suspicion. First of all, dumping a lot of land at once onto the market would 1) drive down the price and 2) largely be bought up by major developers and investors rather than small builders. Also, it’s unlikely that any money gained from these sales would apply to the deficit or the federal debt; it would likely be used like most federal income is used, to buy votes. […]
— Read More: redstate.com
