Senate Bill Would Give First-Time Homebuyers Up to $50K—but It Faces Uphill Battle in Congress

A new bill introduced by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) aims to make homeownership a reality for more Americans by allowing them to receive up to $50,000 from the federal government for a first-time home purchase.

The Homeownership Promise Act, cosponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden, a fellow Oregon Democrat, would allow Americans to open Homeownership Promise Accounts to save for a first-time home purchase. For every dollar put into the account, the federal government would match it at a 5:1 ratio, up to $50,000 in federal matching funds.

“Working families should be able to afford a decent home in a decent community,” Merkley said in a statement. “For millions of young Americans, homeownership remains further out of reach than ever before, keeping them from establishing the foundation that has enabled middle-class families to build equity for generations.”

Merkley proposed the bill after learning that the age of first-time homebuyers was rising. A 2025 report from the National Association of Realtors® found that the median age of first-time homebuyers was 40, up from 31 in 2015.

There is no income requirement to qualify for the account, but the proposal does have additional stipulations.

To qualify, you'd have to be a first-time homebuyer purchasing a principal residence and complete HUD-approved housing counseling. The savings fund could only be used for properties that don't exceed the median single-family purchase price in the area.

The proposal offers additional stipulations that the savings accounts must be opened at a community development institution, such as a community development bank or credit union.

This isn't the first time Congress has proposed stepping in to help first-time homebuyers.

In 2023, California Rep. Maxine Waters introduced the Downpayment Toward Equity Act in Congress, but it stalled. It pledged $100 billion in direct assistance to help first-time, first-generation homebuyers purchase their first home.

Waters reintroduced the proposal in 2025 alongside fellow Democratic Reps. Al Green and Sylvia Garcia of Texas, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, but it has not moved forward.

In 2024, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris proposed a similar policy, which would have given up to 4 million first-time homebuyers $25,000 in down payment assistance over four years.

At the time, several economists who spoke to Realtor.com cautioned that Harris' plan could backfire by stoking demand in an already hot housing market, driving home prices even higher.

Ken Johnson, a professor of finance and the Walker Chair of Real Estate at the University of Mississippi, warned that offering widespread down payment assistance would be like “throwing gasoline on an already on-fire housing market.”

“The real symptom of what's going on is that we're short in supply. We're dangerously short in supply. We just cannot build homes fast enough,” says Johnson. “You can’t make it easier for people to buy homes, and offer easier credit to buy homes, when you have the housing market so overpriced.”

Though it's doubtful that Merkley's new bill will move forward in a Republican-controlled Congress, it could gain traction after the midterms if control of Congress shifts.

In June, Congress passed the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, despite concerns from President Donald Trump. The act aims to boost the housing supply and restrict corporate ownership of single-family homes.

Ahead of the midterms, Democrats have continued to focus on affordability to win over voters. A May poll from the Bipartisan Policy Center found that 79% of registered voters saw housing costs as "an extremely or very important issue."

In the first half of his second term, Trump has focused his housing affordability message primarily on interest rates, touting a decline from 7% rates when he took office back down toward 6%.

However, since the war with Iran began in late February, rising inflation has pushed mortgage rates toward 7% in recent weeks, the highest they've been since October 2022.