Vice President Kamala Harris and Minn. Gov. Tim Walz sat down with CNN last week for the pair’s first major televised interview since becoming the Democratic nominees for president and vice president of the United States, and housing continues to be an issue Harris aims to address in her public-facing statements.
When asked about what her priorities would be if elected on day one as president, Harris mentioned an extension of the child tax credit and closely paired that proposal with housing.
“There’s the work that we’re gonna do that is about investing in the American family around affordable housing, [it’s] a big issue in our country right now,” she said.
CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Harris to respond to the idea that the economy, prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, was well-handled by the Donald Trump administration including through more affordable housing prices.
Harris accused Trump of “mismanaging” the pandemic, saying that she and the president prioritized bringing inflation under control. But she did not deny the economic discontent being felt by voters.
“[Y]ou are right,” she said. “Prices in particular for groceries are still too high. The American people know it. I know it. Which is why my agenda includes what we need to do to bring down the price of groceries. For example, dealing with an issue like price gouging.”
She again mentioned the child tax credit and housing in quick succession, including potentially new information about her housing plan.
“[W]e need to […] bring down the cost of housing,” she said. “My proposal includes what would be a tax credit of $25,000 for first-time home buyers so they can just have enough to put a down payment on a home, which is part of the American dream and their aspiration, but do it in a way that allows them to actually get on the path to achieving that goal and that dream.”
Harris and her campaign did not specify when announcing the $25,000 assistance that it would come in the form of a tax credit, and a series of housing experts who spoke with HousingWire about the proposal said it seemed more likely it would come in the form of direct monetary assistance.
When asked about what Harris said, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said it was framed that way because of tax code implications.
“I think Vice President Harris calls it a tax credit because it would be a part of the tax code, but it could still be issued in cash at the time of purchase to directly cover the down payment,” she said. “For example, the child tax credit was delivered in cash to families throughout the year, not just once a year during tax season. And you could still receive the child tax credit even if you didn’t owe any other taxes.”
In a commentary about presidential housing proposals, National Housing Conference (NHC) CEO David Dworkin expanded on Harris’ proposal.
“As long as the program is targeted and well distributed, it is unlikely to inflate housing prices,” Dworkin said. “First time homebuyers make up only one-third of the market today, and that figure will decrease significantly as interest rates fall. Targeted downpayment assistance, therefore, is not likely to have an inflationary impact on housing prices, especially if it is limited to first-generation homebuyers who earn less than 140 percent of the area median income.”
If such a program is administered through the state, state housing agencies would be able to “scale or augment existing programs” since such programs are often financially exhausted by the end of a given year.
“Structured as a tax credit, however, the benefit would have to be administered directly by the Internal Revenue Service with an advance payment to the taxpayer/homebuyer that could be signed over to the home seller at the closing table,” Dworkin said. “Otherwise, it can’t be applied to the actual downpayment.”
In a recent story on NPR News, the National Housing Law Project’s Shamus Roller told the outlet that Trump’s cuts to public housing programs during his term of office likely indicates his attitude about such programs in a possible second term.
“There were significant cuts to the federal housing programs proposed under Trump, and I would expect to see similar cuts proposed,” Roller told NPR. “It really depends on what Congress looks like, as well.”
NPR national correspondent Jennifer Ludden also highlighted recent comments by Trump where he tied the issue of home prices and availability to immigration. The former president has argued that stopping an influx of immigrants will free up more housing.
“Housing experts aren’t sure how big a dent that would make, but they do say it could hurt new construction, which depends on immigrant labor,” Ludden reported. “Trump also wants to build more housing on federal land, which the Biden-Harris administration has also supported. And he basically says he’d make it cheaper to buy a house because he’d bring down interest rates. But, of course […] that power lies with the Federal Reserve and not the president.”
At a press conference last month, Trump signaled he would seek to have more power over Fed policy if elected.
Harris and Trump are set to square off in a televised debate on Sept. 10, to be broadcast by ABC News. A vice presidential debate between Walz and Republican nominee Sen. JD Vance is scheduled for Oct. 1 on CBS News.
