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The plan comes as annual home price gains set a record for the third month in a row.
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Biden administration officials on Wednesday released their plan to expand access to housing and address the national housing shortage that has helped fuel house price gains faster than average.
House prices this spring and summer rose at a record pace as high demand outpaced low supply. Amid concerns about the scope of housing, a group of economic advisers led by Council of Economic Advisers member Jared Bernstein detailed the White House’s approach to expanding the housing stock to buy and rent. .
Through actions such as expanding certain financing options, changes in a tax credit for low-income builders, and extending the spread of federal government homes, the administration hopes to expand the housing supply single-family and multi-family. “Estimates from HUD, FHFA and Treasury show that these agencies will create, preserve and deliver about 100,000 affordable homes over the next three years,” the authors wrote.
The authors also called on Congress to strengthen affordable rental housing and housing for low- and middle-income buyers through tax credits, subsidies, and zoning changes. “According to HUD, these investments will add or rehabilitate approximately 2 million housing units nationwide,” the authors wrote.
Economists attributed the lack of housing supply to several factors, including scarcity of land and labor, construction material costs, and zoning restrictions that favor the construction of single-family homes. Supplies are short for both landlords and tenants, White House officials said.
“The Covid-19 pandemic changed households’ preferences for location and type of housing, and exacerbated existing restrictions on the supply chain that, for various reasons, have persisted for many years, ”he said. ‘report. “These pandemic-related changes interacted with the existing shortage of housing inventories, leading to a sharp rise in prices for both homes and rental units.”
The plan comes a day after the June S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index data was released, reflecting an 18.6% increase in prices nationwide. The annual increase was the highest reading in at least 30 years and the third consecutive month in which price increases set this record.
Write to Shaina Mishkin at [email protected]