As the Trump administration considers declaring a national housing emergency, an affordable housing developer who began his career at Lehman Brothers unequivocally agrees the proclamation is overdue.
“I think for sure we’re in a national housing emergency. I think we’ve been here for some time,” Dan Coakley, Property Markets Group Affordable principal, told Fox News Digital.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s right on time,” he added. “If you look back over the last 10-plus years where there’s been a housing emergency, no White House has really taken ownership of this issue, despite the fact that, in my view, it’s probably the most important issue out there in the political realm and in the realm of what’s most meaningful in the lives of everyday people.”
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Washington Examiner that the Trump administration may declare a national housing emergency this fall, citing rising prices and dwindling supply.
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“Everywhere you look, the data is bad,” Coakley said.
The 25-year-plus real estate veteran noted that during his career, median rents have risen 21% while median income has increased only 2% in that same time, and 40% of U.S. households pay more than 30% of their take-home pay on housing costs.
Additionally, Harvard’s 2025 State of the Nation’s Housing report shows home sales have fallen to a 30-year low, weighed down by high prices, interest rates, rising insurance and taxes and shrinking affordability.
“In terms of how the White House or the administration is framing the issue… I would commend them highly on raising this issue to the top of the list of priorities,” Coakley said. “Whether you’re a supporter of the president or not a supporter, I think we can all see that he’s willing to try different approaches and even willing to fail, and that’s kind of the mindset that’s needed at this time of a crisis, which has been ongoing now for several years.
“You need an approach by an administration who’s willing to try different things and throw different resources at the issue to try to make a dent in it, and ultimately get to a point where you can take strain off people.”
Coakley recommended three main levers the White House should pull in their effort to tackle a national housing emergency: funding, tariff relief and zoning reform.
“You can put more money toward the issue, which certainly is needed,” he explained. “The ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ actually did a great job of allocating significantly more tax credits, I think a 13% increase to the states, which is really the primary source of funding for affordable housing development.”
“Reductions or elimination in tariffs on certain key materials… timber, lumber… gypsum… glass,” Coakley added, urging a federal fast-track to product delivery. “You can also reduce other kind[s] of non-economic barriers to development.”
“Whether you’re a supporter of the president or not a supporter, I think we can all see that he’s willing to try different approaches and even willing to fail, and that’s kind of the mindset that’s needed at this time of a crisis.”
Rising mortgage rates and steadily high interest rates from the Federal Reserve are “certainly a huge part of the problem,” the developer said.
“Young people, first-time homebuyers can’t afford to buy homes, not only because interest rates are so high, but because median wages have not caught up with costs,” Coakley said. “The housing market affects everybody… in the lower income, middle income, upper-middle income. And all these people are suffering as a result of this. And I just wish that Fed policy and interest rate policy would consider the impact on, actually, a larger group of people.”
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Lehman Brothers alum also drew distinctions between today’s crisis and the 2008 Great Recession.
“I don’t see, you know, kind of a credit-oriented… recession or lock up in the market on the horizon, but I think it’s equally concerning that we’re in this state of… limbo or kind of hopelessness that a lot of people feel,” Coakley argued. “The American dream was about… how can we rise up? How can we go to the next level?… And I view affordable housing and affordability as kind of a linchpin issue around so many other issues.”
Ultimately, Coakley believes America’s housing crisis is a nonpartisan, mission-driven issue, and welcomes the administration’s willingness to elevate the conversation.
“Developers, generally, especially affordable housing developers, are not political. A lot of us, while we’re business people, we also have a heart for this,” he said. “We’re people that will work with anyone, regardless of political party, and just welcome the Trump administration really owning this issue and elevating it. I’m very hopeful of the impact that this could have.”
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