Harris launches ad highlighting plans to build 3 million homes and reduce inflation

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is launching a new advertising campaign to promote her plan to build 3 million new homes over four years, a move aimed at curbing inflationary pressures but also in sharp contrast to Republican Donald Trump's approach.

Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, is pitching her plan in a new, one-minute ad released Tuesday that draws on her personal experience: She grew up renting while her mother saved for 10 years before she could buy a home. The ad targets voters in swing states, including Arizona and Nevada. Campaign officials are also holding 20 events this week focused on housing issues.

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$25,000 for first-time buyers

In addition to encouraging housing, Harris is proposing that the government provide up to $25,000 in assistance to first-time buyers. That message could carry weight right now, as housing costs are driving up the consumer price index. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, housing costs have risen 5.1 percent over the past 12 months, while overall inflation is 2.9 percent.

“Vice President Harris knows we need to do more to address our housing crisis, and that's why she has a plan to end the housing crisis.” She will crack down on “corporate landlords and Wall Street banks that are driving up rents and housing costs,” said Dan Kanninen, campaign director for swing states.

Harris' plan includes tax breaks for developers who focus on first-time buyers and an expansion of existing incentives for companies that build rental housing. Because local zoning often limits the supply of housing, she would double the funds available to $40 billion to encourage local governments to lift regulations that prevent additional construction.

Although Trump has earned a reputation as a real estate developer, data shows that there was a shortage of available housing during his presidency that continues to this day.

That shortage became even more problematic as inflation soared as the country recovered from the pandemic and faced higher food and energy costs after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. High inflation hurt the approval ratings of President Joe Biden, whom Republicans and some economists blamed for triggering the price spike with his pandemic relief.

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Mortgage interest rates at a high level

Mortgage rates rose to levels that were unaffordable for many potential buyers. At the same time, many existing homeowners were reluctant to put their properties up for sale, further exacerbating the threat of inflation.

Trump has floated a number of ideas to reduce housing costs. In a June speech in Wisconsin, for example, he suggested that stopping illegal immigration would reduce demand for housing and lower prices.

“I will also stop inflation by ending the invasion and rapidly reducing housing costs,” Trump said.

There is also the possibility of freeing up more federal land for housing. The Trump campaign is proposing a competition to create up to 10 new cities. Economists who support Trump's agenda have suggested – despite rising budget deficits during his presidency – that if Trump were president again he would get a grip on federal spending, which would lower interest rates.

The Trump team has also opposed Democratic efforts to encourage the construction of apartments and condos in suburbs and cities, which could alleviate the housing shortage. Trump has said in a video that such efforts are “Marxist” and would amount to a “war on the suburbs” that would destroy property values.

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Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign's national press secretary, said in a statement that “Kamalanomics” was making it increasingly difficult to buy a home, seeking to undermine Harris' message that she was a candidate of change who could create opportunities for the middle class.

Trump's main argument is to claim that Harris cannot afford her housing program, while also attacking her for supporting Biden's proposals to raise taxes and other revenue streams that could theoretically offset the costs.

“She has no idea how she could pay $25,000 to every first-time home buyer, including illegals,” Trump said at a rally in York, Pennsylvania, on August 19. Without clear evidence, she claimed her policies would support immigrants without legal status.

The Harris campaign plans to hold events on affordable housing in the Pennsylvania cities of Lancaster, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the Arizona cities of Phoenix and Tucson. There will also be events in the Nevada cities of Las Vegas and Reno, and the North Carolina cities of Asheville and Charlotte, in addition to Savannah, Georgia.