There really should not be much controversy over the idea that a surge in immigration puts upward pressure on home prices.
Immigrants Need Homes Too, So of Course They Push Up Home Prices
In his debate with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday night, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, with characteristic directness, identified high levels of illegal immigration as a significant factor behind the soaring housing prices that have increasingly placed homeownership beyond the reach of many Americans. Vance argued that the unchecked flow of illegal immigrants has exacerbated competition in the housing market, intensifying pressures that are pricing out citizens who are simply trying to secure a place to call their own.
In his remarks, Vance trained his sights on Vice President Kamala Harris, faulting her for her role in an administration he asserts has allowed millions of illegal immigrants to enter the country. “We ought to be deporting illegal immigrants who are competing for these homes,” Vance declared, holding the administration to account for a housing crisis that is, in his view, largely of their making.
There really should not be much controversy over the idea that a surge in immigration puts upward pressure on home prices. Immigrants, just like everyone else, need housing. When there are more of them, demand for housing rises. And since they cannot bring a supply of houses with them when they cross the border, this pushes up homes prices.
Yet Vance’s claim prompted howls of outrage and a misguided fact check from the New York Times.
Robert Reich went so far as to call it “absurd” and “bigoted.
