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Bernie Sanders Fianlly Breaks Housing Policy Silence

American-flag-moneyPresidential candidates have been largely silent about housing policy during their campaigns, with the exception of Hillary Clinton, who laid out a comprehensive plan in February [1] to give all Americans what she considers to be a fair shot at homeownership.

Now Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) is offering a plan of his own [2] to address the affordable housing crisis in the United States following a tour of the New York City Housing Authority’s Howard Houses in Brooklyn last weekend.

“While the housing market has improved since the worst days of the housing meltdown and recession, millions of Americans remain underwater with their mortgages and millions more can’t get a loan to buy a house,” Sanders said on his website. “On the rental side, more than 7 million households lack access to adequate affordable housing, with many facing a daily choice between housing, food, and healthcare. Meanwhile, many working families, veterans, the mentally ill and the poor are living in their cars, in homeless shelters, or simply out on the street. That is unacceptable.”

In order to combat the affordable housing crisis, Sanders said he will take on a number of initiatives should he be elected president in November. Those include:

2-1 Bernie Sanders Cropped

Bernie Sanders

Sanders also promised, as president, to engage in a number of initiatives to help first-time buyers achieve homeownership.

“Owning a home remains one of the best ways for families to build wealth and enter the middle class,” Sanders said. “However, for decades, wages have not kept up with the median costs of homes, putting homeownership out of reach for millions of families.”

Initiatives to increase homeownership include:

Sanders has also pledged to assist underwater homeowners and homeowners facing foreclosure with initiatives that include reinvigorating the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), which was designed to help underwater homeowners who are current on mortgage payments, but because of inadequate outreach and various barriers has not helped all eligible homeowners; and expanding foreclosure mitigation counseling to help borrowers at risk of foreclosure find a solution to keeping their homes.