For generations, home ownership has been the foundation of the American Dream. It is the way families build wealth, stability, and both memories and a future for their children. It’s how communities become stronger and safer.
But as homes become more expensive and supplies become scarcer, that dream feels increasingly out of reach.
There is broad agreement that America faces a housing affordability challenge caused by years of underconstruction, restrictive zoning and regulatory barriers that have affected supply. Expanding supply and reducing unnecessary regulatory barriers must remain priorities. But as policymakers look for solutions, we cannot overlook a core principle that underlies any healthy market: transparency.
During my time in the United States Senate representing Missouri, I met families from all parts of our state who worked hard, saved diligently, and were still struggling to compete in a tight housing market. Many tried to navigate a process that felt fragmented and confusing, as they weren’t sure if they were seeing every available home for sale or if access to opportunities depended on who you knew.
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In real estate, as in every sector of our economy, opportunities must be visible and accessible to anyone willing to compete.
Over the past twenty years, consumers have come to expect broad access to home listings. Buyers can freely search, compare options and make informed decisions about one of the most important investments of their lives. That openness has increased competition and made families stronger.
Limiting visibility in an already challenging housing market does not make housing more affordable. It makes the process less competitive and less fair.
For decades, the housing market has steadily moved toward greater visibility, giving buyers and sellers clearer access to information about what homes are available and what they are worth. But there is a growing practice among some real estate industry players to reduce that visibility by sending listings to private networks and making them visible only to select buyers. If listings aren’t generally visible, buyers may not know if they’re seeing the full picture. Sellers may not reach the largest group of potential buyers. Over time, confidence in the fairness of the system begins to erode.
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This isn’t just a consumer problem; it is a market problem. When access to information is limited, competition suffers. Markets function best when information flows freely. Transparency disciplines prices, encourages competition and builds trust. Limiting visibility in an already challenging housing market does not make housing more affordable. It makes the process less competitive and less fair.
In his State of the Union address earlier this year, President Trump highlighted the story of a Houston mother who lost 20 homes to large investment firms that paid cash and avoided inspections — an experience that left her feeling like the American Dream had been pulled further out of reach. Stories like hers are not isolated. Across the country, families are concerned that the system is favoring those with internal access, speed or scale.
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Just as major investment firms lock American families out of the housing market, brokerage firms that hide listings from the open market do the same. If we believe in competitive markets, we must also believe in competitive access to information.
Brokerage firms that send listings to private networks are shutting out families, just like large investment firms. (iStock)
The American Dream was never about insider advantage. It was about fair competition. It’s about ensuring that success is determined by preparation, perseverance and hard work. Your ability to find a home shouldn’t depend on who you know or which agent or broker you choose to work with. It should depend on your willingness to compete in an open market.
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As the President and Congress continue to debate housing affordability, we must defend the principles that make opportunity possible: transparency, fair competition, and equal access. In a housing market that is already under pressure from limited supply and rising prices, reducing visibility will not solve the problem. It will make it worse. When opportunities are more visible, they become more attainable.
This is how we keep the American Dream within reach of millions of Americans. The path forward is clear: keep listings open, accessible, and visible to everyone. We must ensure that the housing market remains open, where access to housing is not limited, but widely shared, so that every buyer has a fair chance to compete for their share of that dream.
