Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election, included initiatives to deal with surging housing costs in her economic plan announced Friday. She promised, if elected, to reduce “red tape” to build homes and provide incentives for first-time homebuyers.

“There’s a serious housing shortage; in many places, it’s too difficult to build and it’s driving prices up,” Harris said during her first major policy speech on Friday afternoon in Raleigh, North Carolina. “As president, I will work in partnership with industry to build the housing we need, both to rent and to buy. We will take down barriers and cut red tape, including at the state and local levels.“

The economic plan also includes a $25,000 incentive for down payments for people buying their first homes. This is a higher amount than the one-year tax credit of up to $10,000 for middle-class families who sell their starter homes that President Joe Biden announced during the March 2024 State of the Union address.

At that time, Biden also called for an annual tax credit of $5,000 for two years for middle-class first-time homebuyers. Analysts believe that the credit is unlikely to be approved by current members of Congress. 

“We also know that as the price of housing has gone up, the size of down payments has gone up as well. Even if aspiring homeowners save for years, it often still is not enough,” Harris said. “While we work on the housing shortage, my administration will provide first-time homebuyers with $25,000 to help with the down payment on a new home.”

Housing industry experts believe Harris has the correct diagnosis of the main issues affecting today’s housing market — high mortgage rates and a low supply of listings — but they fear her initiatives would increase demand, making the lack-of-supply problem even more pronounced. 

During the speech in Raleigh, Harris said that, if elected, she will also provide a one-year child tax credit of $6,000 and reduce the cost of prescription drugs.

Source: HousingWire