Taken together, administration officials said the announced actions would help overcome the shortage of affordable housing and “alleviate the burden of housing costs”, noting that house prices are a key driver of inflation. This move is the last step of the administration to show it works to cope with high prices across the country. US house prices continued to rise in February, according to the latest data from the US National House Price Index of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. Prices rose 19.8% year on year in February, even higher than the 19.2% growth rate in January. Meanwhile, rents have risen by nearly 20% since two years ago. President Joe Biden said last week that tackling inflation was a top internal priority for his administration. He is attacking Republicans for a plan drafted by the Senate Republican Party’s campaign leader instead of making new proposals to fight the worst inflation the country has seen in 40 years.
New policies announced Monday include steps to use existing federal funding to promote state and local reforms in zoning and land use policies, a senior administration official told reporters with funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law and the transport ministry. . A second official noted that the administration will take steps to improve federal funding mechanisms for manufactured housing, multifamily housing and the construction and rehabilitation of single-family homes.
There are also steps to finance or produce more manufactured housing, additional housing units – also known as garage apartments, basement apartments or backyard houses – 2-4 units and smaller multi-family buildings, according to the White House. .
The administration will also direct the supply of affordable housing to the owners, which, according to the second employee of the administration, is aimed at tackling the “growing trend of large institutional investors to buy single-family homes.”
And the administration will “work with the private sector to address the supply chain’s challenges and improve construction techniques to complete construction of the newest homes in 2022 each year since 2006,” the newsletter said.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge will join Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other Biden officials to deal with disruptions in the building materials supply chain to industry leaders, the newsletter said.
The action will “help close the housing shortage in five years,” said the first senior official, and will be combined with a series of proposed legislative measures to help ease costs. Legislative moves that will require congressional approval include tax credits for buyers of low- and middle-income housing and proposed $ 25 billion in affordable housing grants.
Fudge will join Senator Sherrod Brown and MP Joyce Beatty, both Ohio Democrats, for an event in Columbus, highlighting the new plan Monday.
“Supply Plan policies are an important element in making home ownership affordable for Americans, who today cannot find an affordable home because there are too few homes for sale in their communities. And that will help reduce price pressures in the economy, as housing costs make up about a third of the market basket for inflation, measured by the consumer price index, “the White House said in a statement.
Proponents of affordable housing approve
Proponents of housing applauded the administration’s plan.
But while housing experts said the action was welcome and necessary, they warned it would not be a quick solution. In addition, they said, while some actions can be taken on their own, many of the recommendations require congressional approval, which can be difficult.
“I congratulate President Biden on taking significant and decisive action, but the administration cannot solve the crisis alone,” said Diane Yentel, president and chief executive of the low-income National Housing Coalition. “Congress must also act with similar urgency and swiftly implement the transformative and much-needed housing investment of Build Back Better. Only through a combination of administrative action and sound federal funding can the country really solve its affordable housing crisis. “
Record low interest rates, combined with more than a decade of unfinished construction, created a mismatch between supply and demand, which has boosted house prices. The Federal Reserve is now working to curb inflation by raising interest rates, which could reduce demand but also make the cost of buying a home even more expensive.
According to the NLIHC, for nearly eight million low-income households, homes consume at least half of their limited monthly budget. Affordable housing, which may have been inaccessible to these households even before the pandemic, is now even more scarce.
The NLIHC praised the administration’s proposed use of federal vehicles to ease local zoning laws, which tend to hinder or prohibit apartment construction and could be rooted in racial exclusion. The organization also noted that by supporting manufactured housing, additional housing units and small buildings, the administration can increase affordable housing opportunities in all types of communities across the country. He also says streamlining federal funding and funding sources could help reduce the cost and speed of building these new homes.
Removing regulatory barriers to new construction, especially in underserved markets, and expanding funding opportunities for multifamily and rehabilitation projects could go a long way toward making housing more affordable in the United States, said Bob Brooksmith, president of the Mortgage Association. bankers.
“Commitment to more partnerships in the private and public sectors will help address the challenges of housing and affordability that continue to burden families,” Brooksmith said.
Dennis Shea, executive director of the Terviliger Housing Center, agreed.
“That’s the right trick,” Shea said. “We have built the supply of housing from millions of homes over the last 20 years. Efforts to increase the supply of housing must reduce housing costs for people who want to rent or buy a home.”
Additional reports by Anna Bahni of CNN Business.
Add Comment