Vice President Kamala Harris has rolled out several initiatives as part of her housing plan. She wants to incentivize builders to create 3 million units of affordable housing and develop a $25,000 housing credit for first-time homebuyers. Harris’s housing goals have been widely dissected by the media, showing that the nationwide housing problem is top of mind for many people.
Harris believes that former president Trump has it all wrong when it comes to solving the housing crunch. In her Aug. 16,2024, political rally, she stated, “If his Project 2025 agenda is put into effect, it will add around $1,200 a year to the typical American mortgage. He’s got it backward. We should be doing everything we can to make it more affordable to buy a home, not less.”
She’s only proposing to hand out money to first time home buyers. Since most people will not get this free money, it shouldn’t affect pricing much or at all.
Getting more people into the housing market in the first place is the hard part. Once you already have a home, the value typically follows the market, so you’re still good. I would have a hard time buying my current house, because the value has gone up so much. The down payment and loan would both be horrendous. However I can easily buy a similar one now, because my home value has gone up as much as theirs.
Even if it did affect pricing, it will still work. When you get a loan, the bank would rather see you with $25k down on a $200k house than zero down on a $175k house. In the former case, you have something to lose, and they have a margin to profit, even if the deal goes wrong. Even if all starter homes raised prices by that amount, it should be easier for first time buyers because they have a bigger down payment.