Americans Are Torn on How Immigration, Tariffs Impact Housing Affordability

• 51% of surveyed homeowners and renters think less immigration could make homes more expensive, while 39% think it could make homes more affordable.
• 68% of respondents think tariffs could fuel price inflation and high interest rates, while 35% think they could make homes more affordable.

Over half of U.S. homeowners and renters (51.2%) strongly or somewhat agree with the following statement: “Less immigration will result in fewer construction workers, and thereby fewer new homes, making homes more expensive.”

But much of the nation holds the opposite view; 38.5% of homeowners and renters strongly or somewhat agree with this statement: “Less immigration will reduce demand for housing, making it more affordable.”

Democrat respondents were more likely than Republican respondents to agree with the idea that less immigration will make homes more expensive: 67.1% vs 38.7%. 

The survey findings in this report are from a nationally representative Redfin-commissioned survey of 4,000 U.S. homeowners and renters conducted by Ipsos March 28, 2025-April 28, 2025. This report focuses on the following question: “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements in relation to recent and/or proposed changes to laws or policies that could affect the housing market?” 

U.S. homeowners and renters are also torn on how tariffs will impact the housing market. Over two-thirds (67.9%) strongly or somewhat agree with the following statement: “Tariffs will cause price inflation and keep interest rates high.” But over one-third (34.7%) strongly or somewhat agree with this statement: “Tariffs will help boost the U.S. economy so more people can afford homes.”

Republican respondents were more likely than Democrat respondents to agree with the idea that tariffs will help boost the economy so more people can afford homes: 55.3% vs 23.9%.

Redfin reported in April that nearly 1 in 4 U.S. residents are canceling plans to make a major purchase, such as a home or a car, because of President Trump’s new tariff policies. 

43% of U.S. Homeowners and Renters Are Worried About Impact of Tariffs on Housing Market

This section focuses on the following survey question: “To what extent are you worried (feeling negative) or hopeful (feeling positive) about the following scenarios in relation to your local housing market/home values?” 

More than 2 in 5 U.S. homeowners and renters (43.1%) feel very or somewhat worried about the effect tariffs could have on their local housing market/home values. Roughly one-third (33.1%) feel very or somewhat hopeful. 

When it comes to immigration, 40.7% of homeowners and renters feel very or somewhat hopeful about the effect deportations/fewer immigrants could have on the economy, while 26.3% feel very or somewhat worried.

Methodology

For the question “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements in relation to recent and/or proposed changes to laws or policies that could affect the housing market?” respondents had the following answer choices: strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat disagree and strongly disagree. For this report, we grouped the strongly agree and somewhat agree answers, and we grouped the strongly disagree and somewhat disagree answers.

For the question “To what extent are you worried (feeling negative) or hopeful (feeling positive) about the following scenarios in relation to your local housing market/home values?” respondents had the following answer choices: very hopeful, somewhat hopeful, neither hopeful nor worried, somewhat worried and very worried. For this report, we grouped the very hopeful and somewhat hopeful answers, and we grouped the very worried and somewhat worried answers.

Of the 4,000 U.S. homeowners and renters surveyed, 34.7% identified as Democrat, 33% identified as Republican and 24.3% identified as Independent. The remaining respondents selected “Other,” “None of the above,” or “Prefer not to answer”.

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