Vice President JD Vance claimed that high home prices are being driven by illegal immigrants buying up property.
But financial commentator and investment professional Peter Schiff is pushing back, saying Vance’s claim doesn’t match reality.
“They don’t buy houses, they help build them,” Schiff wrote in a recent post on X. “Kicking them out will drive up construction costs. It’s the Fed, the FHA, and the GSEs that drove up housing prices.”
Schiff: Undocumented Labor Keeps Building Costs Down
While Vance points to undocumented immigrants as demand-side pressure, Schiff argues they are a key part of the supply chain, particularly in the home construction workforce.
He estimates that undocumented workers make up 10% to 20% of construction labor nationwide, with much higher rates in states like Texas, California, Nevada and Florida.
“They do labor intensive work, like framing, roofing, drywall, and concrete,” Schiff wrote.
“Very few illegals buy homes. They can’t afford them, or qualify for loans.”
Schiff’s point aligns with recent research and expert opinion. Many economists agree that immigration plays a limited role in increasing housing demand, while labor shortages have become a major bottleneck in home construction.
Others challenged Schiff, arguing that even renters increase demand and push up rents and cap rates.
“Immigrants need somewhere to live. They don’t buy, but they do rent, forcing rents up, which forces cap price up,” one person replied.
The Real Root of the Crisis: Supply Restrictions
Still, a broader look at the housing market points to much deeper structural issues.
Historian and housing researcher Christopher J. Calton argues that blaming immigrants misses the main cause: government-imposed limits on housing supply.
“Demand does not create shortages—at least not sustained ones,” Calton wrote.
“Supply constraints create shortages, and in the housing market, those constraints are imposed by local and state regulations.”
Calton pointed out that during the late 1800s and early 1900s, the U.S. saw a massive wave of immigration and population growth, yet housing remained affordable due to a largely unregulated real estate market.
Zoning and Regulations Make Building Harder
Over time, he explained, anti-density policies like zoning laws and environmental restrictions made it much harder to build enough housing.
Today, these rules often prohibit the very types of affordable homes, like apartments or mobile homes, that would ease the crisis.
“Developers today are saddled with even more onerous land-use policies, often accompanied by stringent environmental and labor regulations that further delay or prevent development and compound costs,” he wrote.
Policy, Not Immigration, Drives Housing Costs
In Schiff’s view, housing affordability issues come down to policy mistakes, not immigration. He has also criticized President Donald Trump for policies that, he says, have contributed to higher construction costs.
When one person noted that commodity prices like lumber and copper have driven up building expenses, Schiff replied directly: “Yes, and Trump made it worse by imposing tariffs on those goods.”
More People, or Not Enough Homes?
At the center of the debate is a simple question: Is the housing crisis caused by too many people, or by too few homes?
Experts like Schiff and Calton suggest the answer lies firmly on the supply side.
Until developers can build freely and affordably, prices are likely to remain high, regardless of who is or isn’t buying.
IMAGE CREDIT: “Peter Schiff” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.