As President Biden courts young voters and bucks negative perceptions of his handling of the economy, one economic issue looms large over the upcoming election: a historic lack of affordable housing.

The cost of buying a house just hit an all-time high, and even though rental prices are down slightly from their peak in 2022, Americans in red and blue districts alike are feeling the crunch.

A White House report released in March found that although incomes have doubled since 2000, housing prices have tripled, meaning the housing prices rose 50 percent faster than income over the past two decades. The median home price recently hit $383,725, a record high that’s up 5.2 percent from a year ago, according to the real estate company Redfin.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has ticked back up above 7 percent as a recent run of strong inflation and economic data delays the timeline for the Federal Reserve to cut borrowing costs. The U.S. is also short nearly 4 million homes, according to a recent study by Up For Growth commissioned by the American Planning Association.

Casey Dawkins, professor of urban studies and planning at the University of Maryland, identified two culprits of high housing prices that date back several presidential administrations.

"New housing production fell dramatically during the foreclosure crisis of 2007-2010 and has not since recovered. Several factors account for this, including rising construction costs due to supply-chain disruptions and local land use regulations that increase the time, cost, and uncertainty associated with obtaining a development permit," Dawkins wrote.

"With rising income inequality, there are more people today earning incomes below what is necessary to afford an adequate home."

In this housing market, it’s no surprise that the lack of affordable housing is weighing on the minds of voters. Just more than 53 percent of homeowners and renters say housing affordability will impact who they vote for in the upcoming presidential election, according to a report by Redfin released in March.

“I think that just goes to show that [housing affordability] is weighing on people's perception of who they want to vote for,”........

© The Hill