Skyrocketing Home Costs Spur Fed, State Aid to First-Time Buyers

Federal officials and state lawmakers are looking at new ways to help prospective home buyers compete with investors for scarce housing in hot real estate markets.

President Joe Biden last week announced new efforts to increase available housing and reduce financial barriers for prospective buyers as the American dream of building generational wealth through homeownership becomes increasingly out of reach for many.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the median U.S. home sale price in the first quarter this year is about $429,000, up from $370,000 last year and $329,00 in 2020.

“Today’s rising housing costs are ...