US: Yellen Urges Congress To Act On Biden Tax Plan To Address Housing
Shortfall
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will deliver a speech in Minnesota today urging
Congress to act on President Biden's tax plan:
https://www.axios.com/2024/03/11/biden-housing-tax-credit-golden-handcuffs -
which includes a new USD$100 million fund to support affordable housing
financing and bolstering the Federal Financing Bank's financing of affordable
housing to address an "affordability crunch" in the housing market.
* Yellen will say: "Inflation is also down almost two-thirds from its peak. But
President Biden and I know that prices for key household expenses like health
care, energy, and housing are still too high, in large part due to challenges
that have been mounting over decades.
* "On housing, I expect that shelter inflation will moderate, and we see
certain positive signs, such as the fact that total units under construction
remains at a 50-year high. But we face a very significant housing supply
shortfall that has been building for a long time. This supply crunch has led
to an affordability crunch."
* "We need Congress to act... On housing specifically, the President has called
on Congress to provide a tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which would
help more than 3.5 million families purchase their first home in the next two
years. President Biden has also focused on expanding housing supply, putting
forward a plan to build over 2 million homes..."
* AP notes: "Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets Economic
Research, wrote Friday that little change is expected in the housing market
"until the Fed reduces policy rates.""