President Biden Ups His Budget to Combat Housing Crisis

The Biden administration’s latest budget proposal outlines a 21% increase in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s funding, bringing the total to $71.9 billion, according to Realtor.com. President Biden’s new budget aims to provide rental assistance to low-income tenants, increase the total number of affordable housing units, create a smoother path to homeownership, and fight housing discrimination.

Though beneficial, some housing experts worry that the additional funding still won’t be enough to ease record-breaking prices and get a frenzied market back on track. The proposal will move through Congress, where it will be subject to further changes before it can be enacted.

“It’s good, but it’s not enough. It’s good, but it’s not bold,” says Edward Goetz, the director of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, of the increase in HUD funding. “We need the implementation of new ideas. We need to go beyond incremental increases in rental vouchers and other programs we’ve been running for the last 20, 30 years.

“We need to see families that are stably housed,” he says. “We need families who can find affordable homeownership opportunities in their communities.”

Read more