‘The American Dream Has an Address’—and Both Parties Are on Notice, Strategists Say

Democrats' historic midterm sweep will hand them control of Congress, but keeping it could depend on whether they can make housing more affordable, according to leading strategists from both parties.

"The American dream has an address," veteran Democratic strategist Donna Brazile told a room of real estate professionals in New Orleans on Saturday.

Speaking alongside conservative political strategist Shermichael Singleton at the National Association of Realtors®' NAR NXT conference, Brazile cautioned that Democrats' electoral victories were not an unconditional endorsement of their policies, but a demand for relief from the rising cost of living.

Singleton agreed, arguing that Republicans had already learned that lesson the hard way.

"Our voters felt we fundamentally failed," he said, pointing to rising fuel and food costs as well as younger Americans' inability to afford homes as examples of the administration's unfulfilled affordability promises.

Brazile warned that Democrats could face the same reckoning in 2028 if they fail to act.

"If you're not going to help build more houses and take care of the affairs of the American people, they will kick our [expletive] in two years," she said.

Housing affordability becomes an electoral reckoning

The affordability crisis that helped propel Democrats to victory Tuesday had been a liability for their own party just two years earlier—a fact that Brazile said is a warning to both parties heading into 2028.

"Affordability has been on the minds of American people now for two consecutive years," Brazile said, acknowledging that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had failed to recognize the depth of voters' frustration ahead of the 2024 election.

And today, housing offers perhaps the clearest illustration of why that frustration has persisted.

Mortgage rates climbed from roughly 3% in 2021 to nearly 8% by late 2023, compounding a pandemic-era surge in home prices, Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, explained during a separate presentation Saturday.

And while borrowing costs have since eased, home prices continue to climb. Prices rose in approximately 78% of U.S. metropolitan markets during the third quarter of 2026, according to NAR's latest quarterly report.

Existing homeowners have benefited from that appreciation, with Yun estimating that the typical owner has gained nearly $200,000 in housing wealth since before the pandemic. Prospective buyers, meanwhile, face a considerably higher cost of entry.

The consequences are particularly stark for younger Americans. First-time buyers now account for just 22% of home purchases, while their median age has reached 40, matching last year's record high, according to NAR's newly released 2026 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

"Maybe the election result was partly reflecting that fact," Yun said, pointing to younger Americans struggling to enter the housing market.

For Singleton, 36, the frustration is personal.

"You do everything right. You get the college degree. You get the graduate degree. You start the family. You can't afford anything," he said.

Singleton purchased his first home at 28, but said many of his friends, now approaching or entering their 40s, still can’t afford to buy.

And with millennials and Gen Z now accounting for a substantial share of the electorate, Singleton argued that housing access could become a more decisive factor in how younger Americans vote.

A bipartisan opening—but can Washington deliver?

Amid deep political divisions, Brazile and Singleton's agreement on the urgency of the housing crisis was striking. And already, there's a powerful precedent for cooperation on the issue.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, enacted in July, received overwhelming support from both parties, passing the Senate 85-5 and the House 358-32. The legislation aims to boost supply by reducing regulatory barriers, expanding financing opportunities, and supporting new approaches to construction.

But passage was only the first step. Many provisions still require implementation or funding, and their effects on the market could take years to materialize.

Singleton sees opportunities to build on that foundation by addressing barriers closer to home, including local permitting delays, construction costs, and tariffs on Canadian lumber.

"One of the things that I hear about often from them is that the length of time it takes to get something approved is very costly," he said, referring to conversations with builders.

He also proposed investing in training younger Americans as electricians, plumbers, and other skilled tradespeople to help build the millions of homes the country needs.

It's an idea echoed by Scott Norman, CEO of the Texas Association of Builders, who identified workforce development as a bipartisan priority in an exclusive interview with Realtor.com following Democrats' sweep of the state's elected offices.

"The more folks we can get in the business, that'll drive down those labor costs," Norman said.

Brazile, meanwhile, said Democrats' affordability agenda places housing alongside groceries, energy, and family expenses, with an emphasis on cutting red tape and expanding supply.

"Affordability, affordability, affordability. It's not a slogan that Democrats can use again unless they do something about it," she said.

But delivering on those promises will require something neither party has consistently demonstrated in recent years: a willingness to compromise.

"We have the money, but we need the will," Brazile said.

In an emotional moment of the one-hour session, Brazile recalled working with Republican President George W. Bush to secure federal assistance after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.

Despite their political differences, Brazile said she worked with the administration to secure funding for housing recovery, infrastructure, and a new veterans' medical center.

"That's bipartisanship. That's compromise. That's what it looks like," she said.

Her closing message to the real estate agents in attendance was to bring that same commitment to the newly elected lawmakers who will shape housing policy.

"You know the stories because you live it every day," she told them, urging agents to share the experiences of families struggling to afford homes.

And with a new Congress preparing to take office, Brazile argued, that firsthand knowledge could help turn promises of affordability into policies that deliver.