Housing
2022
2022-01-01 During Trump’s first term (2017 to 2021) a peak number of Americans chose the “van life” due to financial constraints. The number of Americans living in vans reached 1.9 million people in 2020 and reached 3.1 million people in 2022. Also, Berkshire Hathaway also owns three of the largest RV manufacturers in the country.
https://www.fiftygrande.com/a-dose-of-reality-before-you-embark-on-vanlife/
https://rv-pro.com/features/van-lifers-explain-how-they-embrace-life-on-the-road/
https://www.unitedvanlines.com/newsroom/2024-national-movers-study
https://livevanlifefreedom.com/van-life-by-the-numbers-shocking-stats-you-wont-believe/
2025 January
2025-01-06 The CFPB sued Vanderbilt for setting up borrowers to fail in manufactured home loans. Context: Clayton homes owns 50% of the manufactured home market - that’s mobile homes. The same company that owns Clayton (Berkshire Hathaway) owns the finance company, the lease company, the insurance company, and the property management company that owns the land on which the mobile home sits. The allegation was that the company would make the home virtually unaffordable after buyers already settled a deal, then take the property back from the buyer later. Homeowners also complained of quality issues such as a form of linoleum they called “congolium”, particle board, heavy leaks, safety issues, cardboard under the vinyl, sheetrock under insulation, and mold. Also, Berkshire Hathaway also owns three of the largest RV manufacturers in the country, and a record number of people are living in vans and RV’s due to economic pressure and a housing crisis since Trump’s first term.
2025 June
2025-06-22 Due to the affordability crisis, more Americans opted to convert $14K sheds into living spaces. What initially started out as “tiny home living” became a necessity, and shed companies started marketing to that.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/us/california-backyard-housing-rent-storage-unit.html
https://qsbuildings.com/blog/life-in-a-shed-the-ultimate-guide-to-downsized-living
2025 November
2025-11-09 Trump proposed a 50-year mortgage. News outlets reported the idea came from Bill Pulte.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/11/business/fifty-year-mortgage
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/50-year-mortgage-trump-pulte/
https://apnews.com/article/home-prices-50-year-mortgage-trump-56a931881ca6f6efeccf2de0333a83bd
https://fortune.com/2025/11/12/how-much-would-50-year-morgage-save-per-month-ubs/
2026 January
2026-01-27 Trump said he intended to drive housing prices up, not down, stating, “I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes. And they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen”, further adding that policymakers should not make housing “too easy and too cheap”.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-trump-says-he-wants-to-drive-housing-prices-up-not-down
https://reason.com/2026/02/02/trump-i-want-to-drive-housing-prices-up/
2026 March
2026-03-13 The Senate passed a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering housing costs. The bill passed 89 to 10.
https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/whats-in-the-21st-century-road-to-housing-act/