HUD, DOI Launch Joint Task Force To Release Federal Land For Housing Development
The leaders of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of the Interior announced a joint venture to release federal land for housing development.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner and DOI Secretary Doug Burgum co-authored a piece published by the Wall Street Journal announcing the creation of a Joint Task Force on Federal Land for Housing that will open up federally protected land for building. The content of that op-ed was shared in a press release.
“Under this agreement, HUD will pinpoint where housing needs are most pressing and guide the process by working with state and local leaders who know their communities best. Interior will identify locations that can support homes while carefully considering environmental impact and land-use restrictions,” it reads.
“Working together, 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.”
A video on HUD’s YouTube channel features Turner and Burgum explaining the premise and signing an agreement.
President Donald Trump promised to unlock federal lands for housing during his campaign, offering it as one of the few specific plans he laid out to address the ongoing affordability crisis.
The idea attracts bipartisan support, with former President Joe Biden backing a plan to sell federal land in Nevada for building in 2024.
Some experts argue that very little federal land falls within the metro areas hurting most for housing. A Wall Street Journal analysis found that only 7.3% of federal land is situated near metros that need more houses.
While Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah have enough centrally-located federal land to make a difference, most states don’t.
The city of Milwaukee in Wisconsin, for example, saw its median home sale price jump 20% YOY in February, the largest increase of any metro. It has basically no federal lands to fall back on within a reasonable distance of the city.
Leaders at AEI Housing Center say that if the Bureau of Land Management auctions off 800 square miles of land suitable for residential development in 10 western states, that could add four million homes.