BofA on the ‘fundamental disconnect’ in the housing market: You’re blaming the wrong person for why you can’t afford a home

American homebuyers have found plenty of villains for today’s brutal housing market: the Federal Reserve, Wall Street landlords, even their baby boomer parents who refuse to move. But Bank of America Research argues the real culprit is hiding in plain sight in your own backyard. In a new housing symposium report, Bof A Global Research says there is a “fundamental disconnect between housing policy and the underlying supply shortage,” and voters are fixated on the wrong enemies like interest rates and institutional investors instead of a faceless villain: time itself. Specifically, the problem is the decades‑long failure to build enough homes. While affordability polls as a top concern, the bank’s policy panel warns the politically painful fixes needed to boost supply remain largely off the table, leaving the market “stuck” even as mortgage rates begin to inch lower. Blame the zoning board, not just the Fed According to the BofA panel, most housing decisions still live and die at the local level, where zoning rules and “Not‑In‑My‑Backyard” resistance keep new supply from ever getting permitted. “Most housing decisions are controlled at the local level, where ‘Not‑In‑My‑Backyard’ (NIMBY) dynamics and political resistance to new development remain strong,” the report notes. That disconnect plays out in how voters explain their own frustration. While affordability “remains a top public concern,” BofA says “most voters blame interest rates or institutional investors rather than the true issue—insufficient housing supply.” Even federal efforts branded as pro‑housing, like the Road to Housing Act, are likely to have “only incremental impact,” mainly by shaving some regulatory friction or funding niche ideas such as modular housing rather than unleashing large‑scale building. A market ‘stuck’ by chronic undersupply The core BofA view is that today’s affordability crisis is the product of both a one‑time shock and a much older failure to build. Post‑2020, remote wo