A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday approved San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to a Reuters report.

The Senate Banking Committee voted 16-6 to approve Castro to lead the agency in charge of U.S. housing. A final vote in the full Senate is needed before Castro can be named secretary of housing, Reuters reported.

The HUD appointment comes at a time when the U.S. housing market appears to be on the upswing, but the future is far from certain. A Bloomberg report on Tuesday said that new home sales in May jumped by the highest month-over-month level in 22 years.

Tuesday's housing report, which was based on Commerce Department data, also showed an uptick in existing home sales, which suggests a stronger market. But housing inventory remains low and that could cause a price bump.

If Castro were appointed as the HUD secretary, he would be the top U.S. housing official. At a hearing on his nomination last week, Castro told senators the current housing finance system was not working for Americans, according to Reuters. He said that if another housing crisis struck, he would not put the burden on taxpayers, which happened in the 2008 government bailout of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

UPI reports that the biggest task in front of the future secretary of housing is winding down both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Castro looks set to replace Shaun Donovan, who was chosen to lead the White House budget office, according to Reuters.

At 39, Castro became the youngest mayor of a U.S. city when he was elected as mayor of San Antonio in 2009, according to UPI. Castro is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School and has received praise for his work in housing and development in San Antonio.