By Vanguard Staff
WASHINGTON — The America First Policy Institute released a new housing policy brief Friday arguing that excessive regulation, fees and permitting delays are at the core of the nation’s housing affordability crisis and outlining a supply-focused agenda it says is necessary to restore access to homeownership for American families.
The issue brief, titled “Rebuilding the American Dream: Homeownership for All Americans,” contends that housing costs have risen so sharply that they are reshaping major life decisions for millions of people across the country. According to the institute, high prices are limiting job mobility, delaying marriage and childrearing, and pushing homeownership increasingly out of reach, particularly for younger adults.
AFPI said the brief draws in part on results from a national poll conducted in January 2026, which found that a majority of voters reported that high housing costs had delayed at least one major life milestone, including moving for work, starting a family or retiring. The institute said the findings underscore what it describes as the broad economic and social consequences of housing unaffordability.
Young adults were found to be especially affected. Nearly six in 10 voters ages 18 to 34 said housing affordability had limited their ability to move for a better job, according to the poll cited in the brief. AFPI said the data suggest that housing costs are increasingly acting as a barrier not only to homeownership but also to economic mobility and workforce flexibility.
The poll also found widespread agreement among voters about the perceived causes of the crisis. Respondents overwhelmingly identified government fees, mandates and regulatory red tape as significant contributors to high housing costs in their communities. State and local officials were ranked as the group most responsible for making it difficult for young families to afford a home, according to AFPI’s summary of the survey results.
“America’s housing crisis is not accidental,” Greg Sindelar, interim president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, said in a statement accompanying the release of the brief. “It is the predictable result of policy choices by the Biden administration that made it slower, riskier, and more expensive to build homes.”
Sindelar said the institute’s proposed housing agenda aims to reverse those trends by focusing on increasing supply rather than expanding subsidies or imposing new mandates. “AFPI’s housing agenda lays out a clear, achievable path to restore affordability by expanding supply, cutting red tape, and rewarding communities that incentivize these common-sense changes,” he said.
The brief frames the affordability crisis as the result of a long-running imbalance between housing supply and demand, which it argues has been exacerbated by regulatory barriers that increase construction costs and slow the pace of new development. AFPI said these barriers, combined with labor shortages and permitting delays, have constrained housing production at a time when demand remains strong.
To address what it describes as both affordability and access challenges, the institute’s policy agenda emphasizes reforms intended to lower costs and accelerate homebuilding. One proposal would allow families to use tax-advantaged 529 education savings accounts toward first-time home purchases, a change AFPI says would help prospective buyers accumulate down payment funds.
The brief also calls for broader adoption of modern construction methods, including factory-built housing, which AFPI argues could speed delivery and reduce costs while maintaining safety and quality standards. The institute said it views construction innovation as a key component of any serious effort to expand housing supply.
Another major focus of the agenda is workforce development. AFPI said labor shortages in the construction trades have contributed to rising costs and delays, and it recommends expanding skilled-trades training to increase the availability of qualified workers. The brief argues that strengthening the construction labor pipeline would help reduce costs over time and support higher levels of housing production.
The institute also proposes using federal leverage to encourage regulatory reform at the state and local levels. According to the brief, federal housing, infrastructure and workforce funding could be tied to efforts by local governments to cut excessive fees, streamline permitting processes and reduce construction delays. AFPI said such incentives would encourage communities to remove barriers to development while still allowing for local control.
In addition, AFPI outlined a proposal to prioritize federal resources for jurisdictions that remove barriers to homebuilding, effectively rewarding communities that pursue pro-supply reforms. The brief describes this approach as a way to align federal spending with policies that increase housing availability.
A centerpiece of the institute’s agenda is the creation of a market-driven Working Families Housing Fund. AFPI said the fund would be designed to finance workforce housing in jurisdictions that adopt regulatory reforms, with the goal of increasing the supply of homes affordable to middle-income families.
Beyond supply-side reforms, the brief also highlights broader public concern about housing affordability. AFPI said additional polling shows that 85 percent of Americans view housing as a significant pain point, while 39 percent believe the government needs to do more to make housing affordable. The institute said these findings reflect growing frustration across demographic and political lines.
The institute’s recommendations come amid continued national debate over the causes of the housing crisis and the role of government at all levels. While some policymakers have emphasized tenant protections, subsidies and affordability mandates, AFPI’s brief argues that such approaches are insufficient without a sustained increase in housing supply.
“With the right policies, America can build again and restore the American Dream of homeownership, raising a family, and building a future,” Sindelar said.
The issue brief was released Jan. 16 and is available through the America First Policy Institute.
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America First Policy Institute Homeownership Housing Affordability housing policy Housing Supply regulatory reform