The nation's Democratic hopeful released a detailed housing plan in February. While much of it may be wishful thinking at best—and empty promises at worst—the plan lays out his priorities and how he hopes to make his mark on the housing market.
"With the pandemic and the economic crisis, the affordable housing problems are only going to get worse," says Goetz. Recessionary conditions could make it tougher to find the money to enact these plans as local and state governments are scrambling for funding.
"The question is how much of this Biden can get through Congress—and how much of it can get funded," says Goetz.
One of Biden's most popular planks is to provide first-time home buyers with a down payment tax credit of up to $15,000 they could use to help fund the deal. As home prices have soared in recent years, this could be a big help to many cash-strapped buyers.
However, some worry this proposal could be mistimed.
“His idea of a down payment tax credit is great, but that might not be [the right] proposal for this market,” says Hale. The housing market's biggest problem today is the dearth of affordably priced homes. "Right now we have too many buyers and not enough homes for sale.”
Meanwhile, teachers, first responders, and other public and national service workers would also be eligible for down payment assistance and lower home prices. However, they would need to buy and move into homes in either struggling, lower-income neighborhoods or pricier communities that don't offer much more reasonably priced housing.
Biden wants to take on racial discrimination in housing
If elected, Biden has pledged to help fight the racial housing gap that has resulted in lower homeownership rates (and therefore lower household wealth) for communities of color. He's proposed creating a national standard for appraising homes to make sure properties in communities of colors wouldn't be assessed at less than similar homes in comparable white neighborhoods.
"It's intriguing and would likely help equalize the playing field," says Hale.
In addition, he's proposed creating a public credit agency that would help raise the scores of minority home buyers by considering things like rental payment histories and utility bills paid on time. This could help more buyers qualify for mortgages with lower fees and rates.
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