Political Quotes

“Madam President, among the many financial worries for average Americans, particularly young families just starting out, is finding a safe, affordable place to live. The simple fact is that we don't have the supply of housing to meet demand. Indeed, we have a shortfall of 7 million affordable housing units according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. Certainly, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced housing production and created kinks in the supply chain for important raw materials like lumber, but the truth is that we were lagging when it came to building and maintaining affordable housing long before COVID-19. Back in 2020, a Rhode Island family earning the State's median income could not afford to buy a home at the median price anywhere in the State. It has only gotten worse since then. Across the country, home prices have risen 13.4 percent from last year, with the national median price now at $416,000. In my State, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors reports that the median price of homes sold in June 2022 reached an alltime high of $430,000. That is 11.7 percent higher than a year earlier. A large reason that home ownership is out of reach for many Americans is the inventory levels are so low. In recent months, sales have dropped as interest rates have increased, but we are still nowhere near a balanced market. In a healthy housing market, there is usually a 6- month supply of homes available for sale at any given time.…”