Trump needs to deliver on lower mortgage rates
Trump’s first term stood out for halting the growing wealth inequality that had been a feature of the prior three administrations. For the president to repeat that achievement, he will need a new boom in housing, the single biggest asset for most families.
During every recent administration except one — that of George W. Bush, which was marked by the Great Recession — almost all income groups became wealthier when judged by their total net worth, ▶ or assets minus debt, in Federal Reserve data. This is broadly thanks to housing, which is the biggest contributor to wealth accumulation across much of the population except for the top 20%, who have more in equities. The value of real estate has risen consistently over the last few decades, except for the period affected by the financial crisis. Meanwhile, higher earners had the additional benefit of a mostly rising stock market since 2010.
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Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.
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