Presidential candidates have big differences, but a few similarities in how to make housing more affordable
Lennar’s new Sunbow housing development in Chula Vista, CA, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. The price of gasoline and groceries often are cited as stress points in the U.S. economy. The high cost of housing is an even bigger one, and tends to be more of a longer-term problem.the United States currently has its “most unaffordable housing market in history” because of the upward pressure on home prices and an inventory that remains low, according to Phillip Molnar of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
How much can be done at the federal level is open to debate. Washington can shovel money and incentives toward housing, but land use and zoning decisions historically have been the responsibility of local governments and they fight to keep it. Harris created a big buzz, certainly on the West Coast, by proposing to do away with restrictive zoning. That has been the key battle in California, with Sacramento essentially doing away with single-family-home zoning across the state and increasingly usurping local control over land use.Harris would “clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that made it harder to build homes for working people in this country.
Harris wants to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and give $25,000 in down-payment assistance to first-time homebuyers. The latter is perhaps the most contentious part of her proposal, as some criticsThe Republican platform says the GOP will reduce mortgage rates by slashing inflation and promote homeownership through tax incentives — but does not advocate direct cash assistance.
Regardless, political promises don’t always pan out. Harris said she will spur construction of 3 million new homes during her first four-year term. The president can’t do that alone.
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