{"id":6207,"date":"2024-12-27T08:41:23","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T13:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=6207"},"modified":"2024-12-27T08:41:29","modified_gmt":"2024-12-27T13:41:29","slug":"momentum-builds-a-new-wave-of-pressure-on-states-to-build-affordable-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/momentum-builds-a-new-wave-of-pressure-on-states-to-build-affordable-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"Momentum Builds: A New Wave of Pressure on States to Build Affordable Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Looking to acquire the deed to a home? A new federal administration could factor into the amount you\u2019ll need to pay. For one thing, the incoming administration is talking about tariffs that would raise the cost of materials and construction work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, actual housing policy falls to the states. Under their authority from the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, states create zoning and building standards, with local ordinances filling in many of the details and procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the 2024 ballot results make it clear that people in various parts of the country expect their states to create affordability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Ever Happened to Housing Affordability?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The traditional rule says a household should pay no more than 30% of its gross earnings on keeping a roof overhead. These days, that rule is awfully hard to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent decades, property values have soared as demand has outpaced supply. Developers in search of profit margins spent a lot of time and energy building big houses. Modest, compact homes became increasingly scarce. Then, to top it all off, came a pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates to stimulate a post-lockdown economy. Big investment groups exploited low borrowing costs to buy up homes, driving up prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s home prices are taking over buyers\u2019 incomes. And then there are the rising tax and insurance costs. Today\u2019s typical household spends more than it can save.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qualifying for a mortgage in this housing economy is difficult for most. But it\u2019s much more so for buyers from minority groups. The latest reports<\/a> show white household homeownership rates at approximately 74%. Of households classified as Black or Hispanic, though, less than half hold the deeds to their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can companies that benefited from the pandemic economy help nonprofit housing providers acquire, rebuild, repair, and reuse properties? Can state and local governments see that it happens?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s Where Voters Are Pressing Their States to Act.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Numerous U.S. cities and states approved new bonds and taxes so that the supply of homes can be expanded. Daryl Fairweather, chief economist for Redfin, notes that these 2024 voters took stands for putting resources into affordable housing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n