The shortage of affordable housing is an issue in the local Waynesboro City Council elections. It’s also an issue that Kamala Harris is trying to address at the federal level.
The Harris-Walz campaign rolled out an affordable housing plan earlier this month that calls for the construction of 3 million new housing units, federal tax incentives for homebuilders to spur construction of starter homes, and a $40 billion innovation fund that local governments would be able to tap into.
The plan also includes $25,000 in down-payment support for first-time homeowners and for home renters who have paid their rent on time for two years and are buying their first home.
“For most of my childhood, we were renters,” Harris said in a campaign spot promoting her housing plan. “My mother saved for well over a decade to buy a home. I was a teenager when that day finally came, and I can remember so well how excited she was.
“I know what homeownership means, and sadly right now it is out of reach for far too many American families,” Harris said.
We know from our coverage of the affordable-housing issue in Waynesboro that the solution to the local housing shortage isn’t something that a local government can do on its own.
The home-construction market is going to naturally gravitate toward building pricier homes without a push in the form of tax incentives to make starter homes more profitable.
And as much as we’re pushing our City Council candidates to address the housing shortage, there’s just not much that can be done at the local level that would allow the city to work with homebuilders to get more affordable-housing options on the market without actual dollars that can be drawn down.
One other part to the Harris-Walz plan that seems like it would work – legislation to remove tax benefits for major investors who acquire large numbers of single-family rental homes.
Harris has vowed to crack down on corporate landlords buying housing and renting them at high prices.
We’ve been writing about the issue of new housing owners jacking up rents in Waynesboro of late.
We’re making affordable housing the #1 issue in the local Waynesboro election. It’s good to see the Harris-Walz campaign making it a priority in the presidential race.
Harris address affordable housing shortage
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Chris Graham
