The Housing Deficit: Can Federal Lands Close the Gap?

The U.S. faces a significant housing shortage and high home prices.

The federal government owns and manages approximately 650 million acres across the United States, nearly 28 percent of the nation's land mass and almost half the surface acreage across 11 contiguous western states. U.S. Bureau of Land Management

A new report from real estate brokerage Redfin says housing affordability did not worsen for the first time in four years. However, homeownership is still out of reach for many Americans.

Redfin economists concluded that homebuyers needed an annual income of $116,782 to limit their monthly housing payments to 30 percent of their earnings. This is an all-time high and $33,000 more than the typical household earns yearly.