Some of the vast expanses of land held by the federal government could be opened up for residential development through the Trump administration’s new housing initiative.
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The Department of the Interior and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are working together to identify “underutilized” federal land where homes can be built to address the nation’s 7-million-unit affordable housing shortage.
“The Interior Department oversees more than 500 million acres of federal land, much of it suitable for residential use,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and HUD Secretary Scott Turner wrote in a joint Wall Street Journal op-ed published Sunday.
“Our agencies can take inventory of underused federal properties, transfer or lease them to states or localities to address housing needs, and support the infrastructure required to make development viable — all while ensuring affordability remains at the core of the mission.”
The plan comes as many Americans have been priced out of the home market. Relatively high mortgage rates have made borrowing more expensive. Elevated construction costs, which have constricted supply for years, are ticking up even more as the Trump administration rolls out, then rolls back, tariffs.
“Streamlining the regulatory process is a cornerstone of this partnership,” Burgum and Turner wrote in the op-ed.
“Historically, building on federal land is a nightmare of red tape — lengthy environmental reviews, complex transfer protocols and disjointed agency priorities. This partnership will cut through the bureaucracy. Interior will reduce the red tape behind land transfers or leases to public housing authorities, nonprofits and local governments. HUD will ensure these projects align with affordability goals and development needs.”
The housing shortage is most acute in urban and suburban communities, but only 7.3% of all federally owned land is within metro areas that need more homes, according to a WSJ analysis.
The plan could have the biggest impact in Western states like California, Arizona and Nevada, where the volume of land owned by the federal government is greater.
There has been some bipartisan support for building homes on federal land.
Last year, the Biden administration sold 20 acres in the suburbs of Las Vegas to Clark County, which planned to build 210 homes for households making $70K or less per year. The property went for just $2K, much less than the nearly $20M it was appraised for.
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