Yellen to announce efforts to boost home supply as US election looms

Increased attention to home prices comes as the housing crunch becomes an increasing issue in upcoming elections.

The Biden administration is announcing new steps to increase access to affordable housing as still-high prices on groceries and other necessities and high interest rates have dramatically pushed up the cost of living in the post-pandemic years.

United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will promote the new investments on Monday during a visit to Minneapolis. The investments include providing $100m through a new fund over the next three years to support affordable housing financing, boosting the Federal Financing Bank’s financing of affordable housing and other measures.

The increased attention to home prices comes as the housing crunch becomes an increasing issue in this year’s general election campaign.

“We face a very significant housing supply shortfall that has been building for a long time,” Yellen will say in remarks prepared for delivery Monday afternoon. “This supply crunch has led to an affordability crunch.”

Both homebuyers and renters are facing increasing housing costs that skyrocketed after the pandemic. According to the Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index, home prices increased by 46 percent between March 2020 and March 2024. A new Treasury analysis showed that over the past 20 years, housing costs have been rising faster than incomes.