A leading housing affordability advocate says Congress could unfreeze the stalled housing market with a simple fix: raise a capital gains tax exemption that hasn’t been updated in nearly three decades.
Chuck Flint, CEO of the Coalition For Affordability and Prosperity, made the case during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily, arguing that while most people blame high interest rates for the sluggish housing market, there’s a lesser-known factor also at play.
“You’ve got a stealth tax on capital gains,” Flint said, explaining that the law hasn’t been updated in 29 years. Under current rules, homeowners can exclude $250,000 in capital gains from taxes when they sell a home if they’re single, or $500,000 if they’re married.
Flint pointed out that those figures no longer reflect reality. In 2000, the median home price was $139,000. Today it’s over $417,000, an increase of roughly 200 percent.
“The government just gets a windfall now if you sell your home,” Flint said, arguing that many potential sellers are staying put rather than facing a large tax bill.
“You’ve got sellers that are staring down the barrel of a big tax, saying, ‘Ok, well, why should I put my home on the market if I’m just going to lose all this money?’ And that’s the crux of the problem,” he said.
Flint noted that other tax provisions, such as the standard deduction and retirement account contribution limits, are automatically indexed for inflation each year. The home sale exemption is not, despite being just as easy to update.
“This is such an easy fix.”
A Bill Already Waiting in the Senate
Flint said lawmakers don’t need to start from scratch. Senate Bill 3332, a Republican-led measure, would raise the exemption to $500,000 for individuals and up to $1 million for married couples.
“Just throw it right on the floor and pass it, and send it to the president’s desk,” Flint said, adding that the bill has drawn bipartisan interest. He named Republican senators Mike Lee, Jim Banks, and John Kennedy as supporters, along with some Democratic senators.
Flint framed the issue as one of basic fairness for homeowners. “Clearly the intent is when you sell your home, you should be able to keep that equity,” he said. “You put the money in, you should be able to keep that.”
He tied the proposal to broader economic policy under the Trump administration, pointing to the earlier extension of tax cuts through what he referred to as the “one big beautiful bill.”
Breitbart News Daily airs weekdays on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
