Biden administration pushes to make housing more affordable

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced a plan recently to help lower costs.

News 12 Staff and Mark Sudol

Jul 1, 2024, 4:42 PM

Updated 152 days ago

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The Biden administration is trying to make housing more affordable, something that Connecticut lawmakers have continued to push for.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced a plan recently to help lower costs. But housing affordability is an ongoing crisis that is impacted by a variety of economic issues right now.
"We face a very significant housing supply shortfall that has been building for a long time and this supply crunch has led to an affordability crisis," said Yellen.
The National Association of Realtors says that for the eleventh month in a row, housing prices jumped across the country. The median existing-home sales price last month jumped 5.8% to over $419,00 the highest price ever recorded.
Redfin says Connecticut's median sales price is almost $425,000. The Biden administration has announced a plan to create a $100 million fund to help finance affordable housing projects over the next three years.
But it's not just the lack of inventory that's driving up prices. While inflation overall has cooled, shelter costs, which measure things like rent and mortgage costs, continue to rise.
As of June 27 the average 30-year-fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.86% according to Freddie Mac. Redfin says Greenwich and Norwalk are among the top 10 metros in Connecticut with the fastest growing sales price.