Kamala Harris photo

ICYMI: Vice President Harris Announces New Policy to Lower Costs for Homebuyers

February 23, 2023

Yesterday, February 22, the Vice President traveled to Bowie, MD to announce an action that will lower costs for homebuyers – making home ownership more attainable. The Vice President's announcement will save homebuyers and homeowners with new FHA-insured mortgages an average of $800 per year, lowering housing costs for an estimated 850,000 homeowners in 2023.

One of the Vice President's top priorities is working alongside the President to lower costs for working families as our nation transitions to more steady, stable growth. The Vice President and President are committed to finishing the job as inflation continues to decrease.

Read more below:

Bloomberg: Biden Wants to Level the Playing Field in the Mortgage Market
[Austin Weinstein, Prashant Gopal, 2/22/23]

[...] The measures by the government are some of the biggest in at least a decade to try to level the playing field in the mortgage market. The US has long faced a Black-White homeownership gap caused by policies that deprived generations of minorities from building wealth. [...]

Both the mortgage insurance premium cut and the fee waivers underscore the federal government's push to address inequality. And the moves will help a swath of first-time buyers: The FHA has insured more than 9.1 million mortgages to those consumers since 2009. […]

Vice President Kamala Harris announced the FHA cuts Wednesday. More than 80% of FHA borrowers are first-time buyers, and more than 25% are consumers of color, according to the White House. […]

Wall Street Journal: Biden Administration to Cut Mortgage ??Insurance Costs for Lower-Income Buyers
[Andrew Ackerman, Tarini Parti, 2/22/23]

[...] The Federal Housing Administration will reduce the fee borrowers pay to have their mortgages insured by the agency by about $800 a year on a typical loan, or 0.3 percentage point, the White House said. Officials expect the fee reduction to benefit roughly 850,000 home buyers and homeowners in 2023. 

Seen another way, the changes would reduce monthly insurance costs for people with FHA-insured loans by about $70 on a $270,000 loan. The FHA insures loans for a higher proportion of Hispanic and Black borrowers than other government-backed mortgage programs. […]

The Grio: Vice President Harris joins HUD to announce new cost-saving action for homebuyers
[Gerren Keith Gaynor, 2/22/23]

[…] During her remarks, Harris disclosed that access to homeownership is personal to her, recalling that as a child she witnessed her mother's excitement after she was approved for a home loan after years of renting. […]

The vice president said the pride that her mother showed is part of the reason as attorney general of California she used her prosecutor perch to hold banks accountable for victimizing vulnerable homebuyers with predatory lending practices. In total, the state of California secured at least $20 billion for impacted homeowners.

Harris also cited the efforts of the Biden-Harris administration to provide financial relief to renters and homeowners who experienced negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. […]

Reuters: White House to roll out plan to lower first-time home buyers' mortgage costs
[Dan Whitcomb, Jamie Freed, 2/22/23]

The White House on Wednesday will unveil a plan to reduce mortgage insurance fees charged to first-time home buyers, helping an estimated 850,000 borrowers save about $800 a year on the cost of a typical loan, it said in a statement.

Vice President Kamala Harris will announce the plan to lower fees on Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans at an event in the Washington suburb of Bowie, Maryland. […]

WBAL-TV 11: VP Harris visits Maryland to announce action to save people money when it comes to home ownership
[Tommie Clark, 2/22/23]

The vice president visited Maryland to announce a plan to trim mortgage insurance costs in an effort to expand access to housing. […]

The cost-lowering measure is intended to make buying a home more attainable and affordable for people who may not be able to afford one otherwise.

"We are here to make an announcement about how we can help more people in connection with their ability to be a homeowner," Harris said. "Homeownership is an essential part of the American dream. […]

Kamala Harris, ICYMI: Vice President Harris Announces New Policy to Lower Costs for Homebuyers Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/359806

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