Treasury Department Announces New Proposals to Aid Housing Affordability and Availability

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