U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says President Trump is considering declaring a national housing emergency to address the growing affordability crisis that is keeping home ownership out of reach for millions of Americans.

Bessent told the Washington Examiner that the announcement could come as early as this fall in an “all hands on deck” effort to deal with skyrocketing home prices and a dwindling supply of housing.

The emergency declaration would open the door to easing tariffs and regulation, prioritizing the allocation of building materials like lumber and steel, and standardizing building codes across the nation to lower costs and simplify permitting to reduce the time needed for construction.

Tighter monetary policy and high housing costs are negatively affecting the housing market and Bessent told Reuters that he’s expecting an increase in real estate transactions and home sales, once interest rates began falling.

An emergency declaration could also allow the reallocation of federal funding, personnel or even lands to deal with the crisis, without the need for explicit congressional funding.

Such emergency powers have been exercised in the past as was done with the border wall construction.

Bessent told the Washington Examiner, “We’re trying to figure out what we can do, and we don’t want to step into the business of states, counties, and municipal governments. We may declare a national housing emergency in the fall.”

The Republican Party is looking at easing the pressure for interested homebuyers across the country by making “affordability” a key platform point as the 2026 midterm elections approach.

If the housing emergency is declared, this would be the tenth emergency declaration issued by Trump since taking office and falls under the 1976 National Emergencies Act in which a president can declare a national emergency at his discretion.

Such a declaration allows the president to bypass Congress while taking a range of actions limited to the 137 emergency powers defined by law, with an additional 13 statutory powers should Congress declare a national emergency.