Buying a home – or just paying rent – got a little less painful this year. And the numbers tell the story.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stood at the podium Tuesday and dropped some housing numbers that a lot of people in Washington don’t want you to hear.
.@PressSec: “The annual mortgage cost for a new home has fallen by $4,000 so far under @POTUS, after rising by roughly $15,000 under Joe Biden. As a result, mortgage affordability has reached a 4-year best… At the same time, national median rents have fallen to a 4-year low and… pic.twitter.com/xiiI5dzRoj
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 18, 2026
Since President Trump took office, the annual cost of a new mortgage has dropped by roughly $4,000. Rents have fallen for six straight months. And mortgage affordability just hit its best level in four years.
Those aren’t talking points pulled out of thin air. They’re backed by real data.
What the Numbers Actually Show
Let’s start with mortgages.
When Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was sitting around 3%. By the time he left, it had shot past 7%.
That kind of jump on a median-priced home pushed annual mortgage payments up by somewhere between $12,000 and $15,000 for a typical buyer.
That’s not a statistic. That’s a gut punch to every family that was trying to buy their first home.
Now rates have pulled back to around 6%, and median new home prices have stabilized.
For the same typical buyer, that’s about $4,000 a year back in their pocket compared to where things stood a year ago.
The National Association of Realtors’ Housing Affordability Index confirms it. In January 2026, it hit 116.5 – the highest reading since March 2022.
That’s not spin. That’s math.
Rent Relief Is Real Too
Renters are feeling it as well.
According to Apartment List, the national median rent in January 2026 was $1,353. That’s a 4-year low. It’s also the sixth month in a row that rents have declined.
From the peak in 2022, rents have dropped more than 6%.
In Nevada – where cities like Las Vegas saw explosive rent growth during the pandemic years – that kind of relief matters to real working families.
Critics are quick to point out that rents are still about 18% higher than they were in late 2020.
That’s fair. Nobody’s saying the problem is completely solved. But the direction has changed, and that counts for something.
What’s Driving the Improvement?
The Trump administration points to a few things.
In January 2026, the White House announced a $200 billion initiative involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage bond purchases, which helped push rates lower.
There’s also been a push to cut federal red tape around zoning and housing construction.
More supply, lower rates, and a government that’s actually trying to get out of the way – that’s a combination that works.
The administration has also floated bigger ideas like 50-year mortgages and letting people tap their 401(k) accounts for down payments without a tax penalty.
Economists debate those proposals. Some see real promise. Others worry about the long-term costs.
But the willingness to think creatively about affordability is a shift from the Biden years, when regulations and spending kept pushing prices higher.
The Bigger Picture
Yes, home prices are still high relative to incomes. Economists at the St. Louis Fed note that home prices have outpaced income growth dramatically since 2000.
That’s a real long-term problem that won’t be fixed in 13 months.
But here’s what’s also true: the trend has reversed.
Costs are coming down. Affordability is improving. And for the first time in years, a family sitting at the kitchen table looking at their housing budget has a reason to feel a little less squeezed.
That’s not nothing. In fact, for millions of Americans, it’s everything.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology was used in the research, writing, and production of this article. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
