Key Details:
- On Friday, August 16, 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her plan to provide up to $25K in down payment assistance for first-time buyers who have paid their rent on time for two years.
- Harris’s innovation fund provides $40 billion—double the previously proposed $20 billion in the Biden-Harris housing plan—to assist local governments in growing their supply of affordable homes and to support innovative construction financing methods.
Today, Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled a plan to expand affordable housing and support first-time homebuyers.
Speaking at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, Harris introduced a housing initiative as part of her broader economic agenda, which also includes an expansion of the child tax credit, a ban on “corporate price-gouging” and tax cuts.
Housing Initiative
Before discussing her plan, Harris spoke about her view of homeownership (starting at 16:41)
I know what homeownership means. It’s more than a financial transaction. It’s so much more than that. It’s more than a house. Homeownership and what that means…it’s a symbol of the pride that comes with hard work. It’s financial security. It represents what you will be able to do for your children. And sadly, right now, it’s out of reach for far too many American families.
From there, she gave an overview of two primary goals:
- Increasing the supply of affordable housing
- Making homeownership more accessible for first-time buyers.
Let’s dive in.
Construction of 3 Million New Homes
Harris’s housing initiative includes building three million new housing units over the next four years. This effort aims to ease the housing shortage that has impacted the country for years, contributing to affordable housing challenges that make homeownership difficult for many.
To incentivize the construction of these new units, Harris proposes new tax incentives specifically for homebuilders who construct “starter homes.” These tax breaks are intended to encourage the development of affordable homes, ensuring that the new supply meets the needs of those who are currently locked out of the housing market.
The proposal also includes measures to prevent Wall Street investors from buying available homes in bulk (thereby leaving fewer homes for individual homebuyers).
Harris’s innovation fund provides $40 billion—doubling the previously proposed $20 billion in the Biden-Harris innovation fund—to support local governments in building additional housing and to support innovative construction financing methods.
The Harris-Walz plan also allows for the repurposing of certain federal lands for new housing developments.
Down Payment Assistance for First-Time Homebuyers
In addition to increasing housing supply, Harris’s plan includes financial support for first-time homebuyers. The Harris-Walz campaign vows to provide, during its first term in office, up to $25,000 in down payment assistance to working families who have paid their rent on time for two years and are planning to purchase their first home.
This support is particularly targeted at first-generation homebuyers, who often face additional barriers to entering the housing market.
In an earlier proposal, announced July 16, the Biden-Harris administration offered $25,000 in down payment assistance for 400,000 first-generation homebuyers, as well as a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.
That proposal also includes a rent cap withdrawing the tax credit for landlords with more than 50 rental units who raised rents more than 5% per year.
It’s unclear, at this point, whether the Harris-Walz plan would do the same.
The goal of Harris’s new initiative is to allow over one million first-time buyers per year, including first-generation buyers (those whose parents are not homeowners), to secure the funds they need to purchase a home.
Harris also proposed two acts designed to reduce the cost of rent by addressing exploitative behavior by corporate and major landlords:
- Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act
- Stop Predatory Investing Act (to prevent the “jacking up” of rents)
Stay tuned for more as we get closer to Election Day and learn more about each candidate’s housing policies.
