[tomder55]

640 million acres
and just like that - Page 2

At the same time we are told there is a housing shortage. Let's assume that there are places where folks won't want to settle (like the Federal land in Alaska )269,000 square miles of the land is in 10 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. States that are experiencing population growths . (California being the exception) .

The lack of available land to build on contributes to the cost of housing. It would not take long to determine which lands the government could put up for auction for the purpose of building new communities.

It's been done before .
Programs_LandsRealty_Regions_NV_SNPLMA_Actof1998.p df

This Nevada project generated $4 billion revenue .
'Phenomenal boon': How Nevada's signature public lands law ushered in growth, conservation - The Nevada Independent

That was one state . Multiply it and we're talking revenue above $100 billion for land that is otherwise unused .

It was never the intention to forever manage lands. The purpose of Bureau of Land Management was the continuation of the 1812 General Land Office to distribute newly acquired lands to homesteaders. It was over time that the purpose shifted to them being a leasing operation (then various restrictions prevent the people who purchase the lease from actually using the land for the purpose they lease it for ).

That would be a good start . Then get the government out of the way. Regulations ;mandates ;restrictions and taxes all create barriers that impact affordability.
Take for example the deduction for a mortgage of a 2nd home.
Top Tax Deductions for Second-Home Owners
How is that even possible when 1st time home buyers are crowded out of the market ?

[tomder55]

The theory is that if the Fed lowers rates there will be more incentive for folks to sell who are reluctant to sell their home because they are locked in lower fixed rates . But as Fed Chair Jerome Powell explained . There is just not enough available land to build on.

“The housing market, it’s hard to game that out. The housing market is, in part, frozen because of lock-in, lower rates, people don’t want to sell their home because they have a very low mortgage and it would be quite expensive to refinance. As rates come down, people will start to move more and that is probably beginning to happen already. But remember, when that happens you’ve got a seller but you also got a new buyer in many cases. So it is not obvious how much additional demand that would make. The real issue with housing is that we have had, and are on track to continue to have, not enough housing. And so it’s going to be challenging, it’s hard to zone lots in places people want to live. All of the aspects of housing are far more difficult, and where are we going to get the supply? And this is not something the Fed can really fix.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell just issued the first rate cuts—what it means for the housing market

[tomder55]

Today in WSJ ,Thomas Sowell makes the case to sell off Federal land .

There are, however, additional billions of dollars that could be tapped, from a source that not many people think about. That is the vast—almost unbelievable—amount of land owned by the federal government. Some of that land—such as military bases—is used to house the government’s own operations. But the great majority of that land is not.
The rest of this government-owned land is so vast that there is little to compare it with—except whole countries. And not small countries like Belgium or Portugal. The amount of land owned by the National Park Service alone is larger than Italy. The land owned by the Fish and Wildlife Service is larger than Germany. The land owned by the Forest Service is larger than Britain and Spain combined. The land owned by the Bureau of Land Management is larger than Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the Philippines combined.

The World’s Biggest Landlord Is Washington - WSJ

He argues that management of these lands is also an unnecessary drain on the Treasury . It costs more than the return on leases. He also makes the case for the need for real estate land to build on .

"The federal government owns a little more than one-fourth of the total land area of the United States. The time is long overdue to consider whether that is the best economic arrangement. "

[Wondergirl]

Wonderful idea!!! Then all the "illegal immigrants", young marrieds et al. will be able to build or buy houses in deserts and on mountains!

[tomder55]

Even Clueless Joe's administration thinks it's a good idea.

From it's July fact sheet

• Repurposing public land sustainably to enable as many as 15,000 additional affordable housing units to be built in Nevada;

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Major New Actions to Lower Housing Costs by Limiting Rent Increases and Building More Homes | The White House

That is Nevada where the Federal Government owns 85% of the land in the state .(also the home of one of the fastest growing urban areas in the country (Las Vegas )

Populations centers have been built throughout the South West and Western states . I will remind you that the state of California was mostly unusable desert before humans reengineered the land to suit their needs.

Harris and Trump see federal land in the Southwest as an opportunity for more housing : NPR

There are thousands of acres of Federal Land adjacent to population centers . If anything ;the proximity of that land drives property values up in those areas . I know that to be true, Even in NY where I used to live the village promoted itself as a gateway to park land.

What our nation does with the land it owns is immoral . The land that became available after Lewis and Clark was given away to homesteaders . Now the government can't bear giving away an acre.
While I agree that land should be set aside for parks ;monuments and natural resource exploitation and preservation; there is a vast amount of it that is in fact a drain on the US Treasury to preserve. What do we keep it for ? To train fire fighter to fight forest fires ?

[jlisenbe]

That is Nevada where the Federal Government owns 85% of the land in the state

Good grief. Mr. Musk, please look very early at this travesty.