The Washington Report

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced new steps that the Biden Administration is taking to help housing affordability. The new policies mirror many of NAR’s top priorities, including steps to help lower housing costs and increase housing supply.

The proposals are as follows:

1. A new Treasury program administered by the Committee Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund that will provide an additional $100 million over the next three years to support the financing of affordable housing;
2. An effort to provide greater interest rate predictability to state and local housing finance agencies borrowing from the Federal Financing Bank to support new housing development;
3. A call to action for the Federal Home Loan Banks to increase their spending on housing programs;
4. A new “How-To Guide” to support state and local governments in using recovery funds provided by Treasury to construct housing; and
5. An update to the Capital Magnet Fund to provide greater flexibility to CDFIs and non-profits that finance affordable housing.

NAR will continue to advocate for solutions that promote housing affordability and increase housing supply.

Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen in Minneapolis, Minnesota

On June 26, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman announced they are awarding $85 million in grant funding for the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO) program.

The PRO Housing program seeks to remove barriers to affordable housing production and ultimately lower housing costs by addressing the main culprit of housing affordability: the limited housing supply. Grant recipients of the PRO Housing program across the country have actively committed to address the affordable housing supply shortage by taking actions including updating zoning requirements, taking advantage of under-utilized vacant land, updating the existing housing stock, and streamlining permitting and construction processes. The United States is facing a historic housing supply shortage of 5.5 million units.

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) thanks the Biden-Harris administration and HUD for their commitment to tackling this issue that impacts families across the country.

Read HUD's Announcement