According to Politico, inflation in the United States is causing problems for Republican campaigns on housing affordability. In June, Republicans pushed through the 21st Century Housing Road Act, which aims to increase housing construction and improve long-term affordability. Republican campaigns have been touting the bill, but Trump's war on Iran has led to soaring energy prices, pushing up inflation and consequently increasing mortgage costs. Housing is one of the issues voters care about most. A poll released in May by the Bipartisan Policy Center found that 79% of registered voters consider housing costs an "extremely or very important issue." However, the impact of this new congressional law is likely to take months or even years to take effect in the current tight housing market. With only weeks left until the midterm elections, U.S. mortgage rates reached nearly 7% last week, but Trump campaigned on a promise to lower mortgage rates to 2%, a promise that now seems more unlikely than ever with his second term halfway through. Furthermore, Trump's initial refusal to sign the housing bill, calling it "utterly boring," has also weakened the effectiveness of Republican campaigns. Financial industry experts predict that mortgage rates will not fall significantly before November unless Trump quickly resolves the Middle East conflict or makes progress in international trade negotiations. Christian Delitis, managing director of Moody's Analytics, stated that the most effective solution would be some form of resolution to the Strait of Hormuz standoff, which would certainly lower inflation quite quickly.
