This article focuses on the many challenges facing the US housing market, analyzing the high housing prices and insufficient supply reflected by the increasing average age of homebuyers. It elaborates on the complex impact of factors such as the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike policy, rising construction costs, and differences in housing policies between the two parties on the housing market. It emphasizes that alleviating housing pressure requires a balance between controlling inflation, promoting economic growth, and driving housing supply growth. It also explores the measures that future policy makers can take to solve housing problems and the necessity of multi-party collaboration.

The current situation in the US housing market is severe and complex, facing a series of intertwined challenges that not only affect the healthy development of the real estate market, but also concern the vital interests of many homebuyers. The following will provide a detailed explanation of the relevant situation.

1、 The difficulties and influencing factors facing the US housing market

（1） The market situation behind the age change of homebuyers

Recently, the US housing market has shown a significant feature, with the average age of homebuyers rising to 56 years old. This phenomenon is not accidental, and it deeply reflects two prominent problems in the US housing market: high housing prices and insufficient housing supply.

From the perspective of housing prices, their upward trend is evident. According to data from September 2023, the median selling price of homes in the United States has reached $427000, an increase of 3.8% compared to the same period last year. Such high housing prices have put enormous financial pressure on many potential homebuyers, especially young people with relatively weak economic strength, and have to postpone their home purchase plans.

From the perspective of housing supply, the supply-demand imbalance in the US housing market is quite severe. It is estimated that the supply gap is about 4.5 million housing units. The severe shortage of housing supply, coupled with high housing prices, further exacerbates the difficulty of purchasing a house, which is also one of the important factors leading to an increase in the average age of homebuyers.

（2） The impact of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike policy

The Fed's interest rate hike policy has had significant impacts on the US housing market in multiple ways, further exacerbating market difficulties.

On the one hand, interest rate hikes have led to an increase in mortgage rates. The Federal Reserve has taken interest rate hikes to combat high inflation, which has directly led to a surge in mortgage rates. For homebuyers, the increase in mortgage interest rates means a significant increase in the cost of purchasing a house, particularly affecting low - and middle-income families. Their burden of purchasing a house has significantly increased, making it increasingly difficult to implement their housing plans.

On the other hand, the interest rate hike policy has indirectly affected builders. As financing costs rise due to interest rate hikes, builders are facing the dilemma of continuously increasing construction costs for new homes. This not only increases the operational pressure on builders, but also hinders the increase of housing supply, further exacerbating the supply-demand imbalance in the housing market.

（3） The pressure of rising construction costs

The rise in construction costs is also one of the important factors troubling the US housing market.

In the current economic environment, trade protectionism policies have led to an increase in the cost of building materials, and the financing costs for builders are also rising. The combined effect of the two has led to a continuous increase in the cost of building new houses, which undoubtedly has a negative impact on housing supply, exacerbating the situation of insufficient housing supply and driving up high housing prices.

（4） Obstacles to the housing policy differences between the two parties

At the political level, the differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party on housing policies have added a lot of complexity to the solution of the US housing market problem.

The Democratic Party advocates increasing housing supply through government intervention, but this approach faces many difficulties and complexities in implementation, and the actual effect often fails to meet expectations, making it difficult to effectively alleviate the shortage of housing supply.

The Republican Party's market mechanism reform plan, although aimed at solving the housing supply problem from a market perspective, has little effect in the short term and is difficult to significantly improve the supply-demand imbalance in the housing market in a short period of time.

The divergence in housing policies between the two parties has made it difficult to effectively address the key issue of increasing housing supply, resulting in a fundamental alleviation of the overall difficulties in the US housing market.

2、 Strategies and measures to alleviate pressure on the US housing market

Given the severe challenges faced by the US housing market, in order to promote its healthy development and alleviate market pressure, it is necessary to formulate strategies and take corresponding measures from multiple aspects.

（1） Balancing macroeconomic regulation objectives

The key to alleviating the pressure on the housing market lies in achieving a balance between controlling inflation and promoting economic growth.

Controlling inflation can maintain price stability, avoid excessive economic fluctuations, and create a relatively stable macroeconomic environment for the housing market. At the same time, promoting economic growth can increase residents' income levels, enhance their ability to purchase houses, and provide strong support for the development of the housing market. Only by achieving a balance between these two aspects can a solid foundation be laid for the stable development of the housing market.

（2） Promote the growth of housing supply

It is crucial to promote the growth of housing supply while ensuring the stability of the macroeconomic environment.

The increase in housing supply can help alleviate the imbalance between supply and demand, reduce the pressure of housing competition, and promote the return of housing prices to a reasonable range, providing more choices for homebuyers and achieving a virtuous cycle in the housing market. Therefore, promoting the growth of housing supply should be regarded as one of the important measures to alleviate the pressure on the housing market.

（3） Specific measures and collaborative requirements

To achieve the above goals, the government can take a series of specific measures, and the effective implementation of these measures requires close cooperation between federal and local governments.

Firstly, expedite the approval process. By simplifying and optimizing the approval process for housing construction projects, the efficiency of approval can be improved, and more housing construction projects can be implemented as soon as possible, thereby effectively increasing the speed of housing supply and alleviating the current situation of housing supply shortage.

Secondly, guide more private capital to enter the market. The government can introduce relevant preferential policies, such as tax reductions, fiscal subsidies, etc., to encourage and guide private capital to invest in the field of housing construction, provide sufficient financial support for housing construction, and help increase housing supply.

Furthermore, provide housing subsidies or preferential loans to low - and middle-income families. Considering the economic difficulties faced by low - and middle-income families in the process of purchasing a house, providing such subsidies or loans can alleviate their housing burden, enhance their purchasing ability, and promote the balance of supply and demand in the housing market.

However, it should be clarified that the effective implementation of these measures cannot be achieved by one party alone, and requires close cooperation between federal and local governments to form a synergistic effect. Only through joint efforts from multiple parties can we find long-term and effective solutions, gradually alleviate the severe difficulties faced by the US housing market, and promote the healthy and stable development of the US housing market.

The problems in the US housing market are complex and intricate, and solving these problems requires all parties to uphold a spirit of cooperation, from macroeconomic regulation to specific policy implementation, and work together at multiple levels to achieve the healthy development of the housing market.