TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Being able to find and afford a place to live is a real challenge for a lot of people right now. KGUN9 had a chance to talk to the Cabinet Secretary who oversees the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development about that issue; and he sees reducing regulations as the key to getting people into a home.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner spoke with a group of local business leaders gathered at the invitation of Congressman Juan Ciscomani.
Turner says regulations pump up the cost of new home construction but President Trump has signed executive orders to eliminate some of them.
“Some of the green energy mandates during the Biden administration added between $21,000 and $30,000 to every single family project. And so when you rescind those and you take those down, that makes it cheaper or easier for builders to build and for buyers to buy. And so the supply goes up, the cost comes down, and so people in America can become homeowners.”
Secretary Turner says he expects builders to continue to build to high efficiency standards even with fewer formal requirements.
Congressman Ciscomani says lowering housing costs is more than a Federal responsibility.
“So local communities have to step up as well. It's layer after layer of taxes, both city, county and state, that are also hindering this.”
Members of both parties are talking about lowering housing costs. At a recent town hall in Phoenix, Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego worried about homes that have zoomed out of reach.
“You’re going to have a generation of young Americans that are going to have very bad credit or no credit at all because they’re going to be renting forever.”
Secretary Turner says some of the policy changes should have an effect right away. Others should have a long term impact on your ability to own a home.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
