Harris, Trump push different plans for tackling housing affordability crisis

FE Team | Published: October 24, 2024 00:07:58

Millions of Americans can't afford to buy a home or rent a suitable apartment, making housing a central issue for voters in the upcoming presidential election, report agencies.
The biggest single reason homeownership is out of reach for many is there aren't nearly enough homes for sale to balance out the market between buyers and sellers.
The shortfall, which some economists say ranges from 1 million to around 4 million homes, has for the better part of the last decade fueled bidding wars that boosted the median sales price of a previously occupied U.S. home to an all-time high of $426,900 in June - even as home sales have been in a deep slump for more than two years.
Higher mortgage rates have also kept many home shoppers on the sidelines. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage rose to a 23-year high of nearly 8% late last year, and now sits at 6.44%.
Renters haven't had it any easier. While the median U.S. asking rent has been easing for more than a year following a wave of new apartment construction, it remains roughly 20% higher than it was before the pandemic.
Against this backdrop, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have put out proposals that they contend will make the American Dream accessible to more Americans.
Harris' campaign has laid out a detailed roadmap of policies aimed at expanding access to affordable housing both for homebuyers and renters that includes offering first-time homebuyers up to $25,000 in down payment assistance and tax incentives for builders and federal funds for cities to speed up construction. She claims her plan will add 3 million new housing units over the next four years.
Trump says he will create tax incentives for homebuyers, cut "unnecessary" regulations on home construction and make some federal land available for residential construction, though the campaign's platform doesn't include any details. Trump also claims that he will lower housing costs by reducing inflation and stopping illegal immigration.
Setting aside the fact that many of the candidates' policies would require support from a majority of lawmakers in Congress, which the next president may not have, economists say the campaigns' platforms offer some good ideas, but no sure fixes to the housing market's longstanding challenges.