Bipartisan House Members Introduce Bill to Expand Low-Interest Mortgages for First-Time Homebuyers
A bipartisan group of U.S. House of Representatives members, including Representatives Darin LaHood (R-IL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Blake Moore (R-UT), and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), has introduced the First-Time Homebuyer Affordability Act. This legislation aims to increase access to lower-interest mortgages for first-time and low- to moderate-income homebuyers. The core of the bill involves exempting qualified mortgage bonds from the annual federal Private Activity Bond (PAB) volume caps. Currently, mortgage revenue bonds, which are issued by state and local housing agencies to finance below-market-rate mortgages, count against each state’s allocation of tax-exempt private activity bonds. Supporters of the bill argue that increased housing demand and rising home prices have strained these limits, thereby restricting the amount of mortgage assistance available. By removing these bonds from the cap, states would be able to issue more bonds for homeownership programs without reducing financing for other uses, such as... 
