The Biden administration announced new steps to increase access to affordable housing as still-high prices on groceries and other necessities and high interest rates have dramatically pushed up the cost of living in the post-pandemic years, the Associated Press reports.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is promoting the new investments today during a visit to Minneapolis. The investments include providing $100 million through a new fund over the next three years to support affordable housing financing, boosting the Federal Financing Bank’s financing of affordable housing, and other measures.
The increased attention to home prices comes as the housing crunch becomes an increasing issue in this year’s general election campaign.
Both homebuyers and renters are facing increasing housing costs that skyrocketed after the pandemic. According to the Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index, home prices increased by 46% between March 2020 and March 2024. A new Treasury analysis shows that over the past two decades, housing costs have been rising faster than incomes.
