Jamie Dimon Committed JPMorgan to $750 Billion of Housing Investment Through 2035

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) just upped its bet on housing. The banking giant said it will spend $750 billion over the next decade -- through 2035 -- to increase the nation's housing supply and support homeownership. That's 40% more than it spent on housing investment over the past decade.

The initiative is part of CEO Jamie Dimon's American Dream Initiative, which targets investments in local communities across the U.S. with investments in housing, small businesses, and healthcare, among other areas. The $750 billion housing investment will go toward building or preserving 1 million affordable housing units and providing financing assistance to 500,000 homebuyers.

The U.S. housing industry is currently facing a severe shortage of up to 4.7 million homes, according to Zillow (other estimates put it lower). And affordability is near an all-time low due to rising home prices and elevated borrowing rates. The median price of a home hit a record $440,600 in June, and the average 30-year mortgage rate, at 6.65%, is more than double what it was five years ago.

Home sales across the nation are struggling, in a big way. The National Association of Realtors says existing home sales fell 1.7% in July, from the previous month, following a 2.4% decrease in June.

Image source: Getty Images.

JPMorgan is already a major player in the housing industry -- it's the largest home lender among its bank peers, according to Bloomberg. And this planned housing investment will only increase it. The bank says it will increase its mortgage lending by 40% and hire 850 new home lending advisors.

JPMorgan looks to capitalize on the shortage

The timing on this matter seems right to me. Both parties in Congress recognize the dual crises of housing undersupply and unaffordability and want to address them. That's how the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed this year with bipartisan support. The legislation encourages states and municipalities to streamline regulations that obstruct home construction and to increase lending to companies in the industry.

I've written extensively about that legislation and spoken to housing experts about it. Most of them tell me the act makes positive strides toward closing that enormous housing gap, but it's not enough. I also recently wrote about manufactured housing, which the legislation encourages, and why that must be part of the solution (basically, because manufactured and mobile homes are far cheaper than homes built on-site).

Of course, JPMorgan's investment is also designed to generate profits. The company wants to grow its housing business and take market share. And it's not alone. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Citigroup (NYSE: C), and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) have each announced their own major housing initiatives. Clearly, these banks see the massive housing gap as a giant opportunity. I think they may be on to something.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Wells Fargo is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Matthew Benjamin has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.