Landmark Housing Bill Clears Congress: A Historic Win for Affordability and REALTORS®

 

Landmark Housing Bill Clears Congress: A Historic Win for Affordability and REALTORS®

As a real estate professional, I know firsthand that our nation is facing an unprecedented inventory crisis. After more than a decade of underbuilding, the United States faces a severe housing shortage—estimated at approximately 4.7 million homes. This lack of available inventory has driven up prices, limited options for buyers, and made homeownership increasingly difficult, particularly for first-time, first-generation, and middle-income families.

Relief is finally on the horizon. Congress recently passed landmark housing affordability legislation, advancing one of the most significant federal housing packages in nearly two decades. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act now heads to the President’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.

This monumental achievement is the result of nearly two years of sustained, tireless advocacy by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and its nearly 1.5 million members.

A Testament to Grassroots Advocacy

Passing major legislation takes years of relationship-building, technical expertise, and dedicated grassroots engagement. Throughout the development of this bill, NAR worked closely with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, holding thousands of meetings on Capitol Hill, commissioning original research, and providing deep policy insights.

The final push came last week when nearly 8,000 REALTORS® traveled to Washington, D.C., for the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings, urging lawmakers to push the bill across the finish line.

“This is the most significant housing legislation to pass Congress in nearly 20 years,” says Shannon McGahn, NAR executive vice president and chief advocacy officer. “At a time when affordability remains one of the nation’s greatest challenges, lawmakers came together in a bipartisan way to advance solutions that will help communities build more homes, expand housing opportunities and strengthen pathways to homeownership.”

The path to this victory spanned two NAR presidents—Kevin Sears and Kevin Brown—both of whom provided critical testimony before Congress in support of the measure.

What’s in the Bill?

The final legislative package combines nearly 50 individual housing proposals addressing supply, financing, zoning, and fair housing. Here is a breakdown of the critical measures included in the final bill:

Measures to Increase Housing Supply The legislation tackles restrictive local barriers and incentivizes new construction, particularly for missing middle-income housing:

• Sec. 107 (Housing Supply Frameworks): Directs HUD to develop zoning and land-use best practices to help communities remove barriers to development.

• Sec. 201 & 204 (Opportunity Zones & CDBG Eligibility): Prioritizes grants for construction in Opportunity Zones and allows Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to be used for new housing construction.

• Sec. 205 & 206 (BUILD Housing Act & Streamlined Reviews): Streamlines federal environmental reviews to reduce delays for small, infill, and housing development projects.

• Sec. 208 & 209 (Innovation Fund & Accelerating Home Building Act): Provides flexible infrastructure funding and encourages pre-approved housing designs to speed up local permitting.

• Sec. 210 & 301 (RESIDE Act & Manufactured Housing): Supports converting vacant buildings into housing and modernizes manufactured and modular housing production rules.

• Sec. 501 & 502 (HOME & Rural Housing): Modernizes key affordable housing production and preservation programs in rural and urban communities.

Measures to Expand Access to Homeownership & Capital

• Small-Dollar Mortgages (Sec. 105, 401, 402): Creates pilot programs and regulatory reviews to expand access to critical mortgages of $100,000 or less.

• Choice in Affordable Housing Act (Sec. 405): Reduces inspection delays and expands housing options for voucher holders.

• Supporting Veterans & Military Families (Sec. 601, 602, 603): Ensures veterans are fully informed of their VA loan benefits, expands housing assistance for disabled veterans, and improves transparency by helping buyers compare VA and FHA financing options via the VALID Act.

• Capital Access (Sec. 203, 907, 908): Increases banks' capacity to invest in affordable housing and encourages the formation of new financial institutions.

Looking Ahead

Housing is fundamentally a bipartisan issue. Every community in America feels the effects of the housing shortage, and this legislation proves what is possible when lawmakers and industry experts collaborate to solve real challenges.

This historic legislation will provide communities the tools they need to build more homes, stabilize our aging housing stock, and ensure more American families can achieve the dream of homeownership.

To stay updated on the ongoing advocacy work of the National Association of REALTORS®, be sure to subscribe to The Advocacy Scoop podcast.