The Biden administration said Wednesday it is awarding $85 million to 21 state and local governments to help them address barriers to developing more affordable housing.
Funds are being doled out through a Department of Housing and Urban Development program aimed at helping local governments update housing developments, modify land use policies and make it easy to process permits for new housing.
“The investment is part of a larger strategy to lower rents and help more Americans buy a home,” Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters Wednesday during a conference call.
Ms. Harris said the grants are part of the administration’s plan to build 2 million units of affordable housing. Administration officials declined to say when shovels could hit the ground on these projects.
A National Association of Realtors study released last week revealed that homeownership has moved even further out of reach for most Americans as home prices reached record levels last month. It has become a key issue among younger voters.
The median home sales price reached an average of $419,300 last month, the highest price ever recorded, according to the National Association of Realtors study.
Home prices jumped roughly 6% between May 2023 and May 2024, while sales declined about 3% during the same period. At the same time, the number of unsold homes grew 6.7% between April 2024 and May 2024, which is the equivalent of nearly four months of inventory.
The funds announced Wednesday will be distributed through HUD’s Pathways to Removing Obstacles program, which was created in the fiscal 2023 appropriations bill. A variety of U.S. jurisdictions will receive funding, including $6.7 million for Los Angeles County, $6.6 million for the state of Hawaii and $2.5 million for Ketchum, Idaho.
Ms. Harris said Milwaukee will receive $2.1 million to provide subsidies for builders to more easily develop vacant lots and abandoned buildings, while $4.5 million will help Denver offer low-cost loans to housing developers to build connections to utilities.
All told 175 communities applied for the funds. The Biden administration is expected to release another $100 million worth of grants later this summer and President Biden has asked Congress for another $100 million for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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