Landmark Housing Bill Passes in Senate and House - Are More Affordable Homes on the Horizon?

A landmark housing bill might help you protect your home budget by making housing more affordable. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act could become the largest federal housing legislation enacted in decades. The Senate passed the legislation on Monday, and the House of Representatives passed it with a 358-32 bipartisan vote on Tuesday. Now, the legislation awaits President Trump's signature.

Addressing the housing shortfall

The U.S. faces a housing shortage. According to Realtor.com, the U.S. was short by more than 4 million housing units in 2025, a fact that has driven rates and costs up, making buying a home extra challenging.

Other factors are also pushing homes out of reach of buyers. Redfin reports that a family needs an income of approximately $117,000 to afford the typical home on the market. Most households earn about $30,000 less than that.

Rising mortgage rates have also driven up the cost of homeownership. While mortgage rates were falling earlier in 2026, interest rates have climbed again with the war in Iran, and rates now average 6.5%.

Making it easier to buy a home

The bill incorporates numerous provisions to help encourage the construction of housing and to make it easier to buy a house. The bill includes a ban preventing corporate investors from buying more single-family homes to rent. Investment groups that own at least 350 single-family homes would be prevented from purchasing more properties.

Making homeownership more affordable

The bill also includes a HUD-backed pilot to help homeowners cope with the high costs of owning a home. The pilot would offer grants and forgivable loans to help owners pay for home repairs. The services would be particularly targeted to lower-income homeowners who are facing the high cost of maintaining an aging home.

Speeding up the construction process

To encourage the construction of new homes and speed up the process, the legislation offers incentives to local governments that take steps to ease construction barriers, like restrictive zoning and time-consuming permitting processes. By helping to speed up construction, the bill might address the housing supply shortage, which could help bring home prices down and make buying a home easier.

Support for veterans

Veterans could also receive support from the legislation. The bill includes a provision requiring mortgage applications to feature VA-backed loan eligibility information, so veterans may know that they could potentially qualify for the benefits.

The bill would also require lenders to provide side-by-side comparisons of VA, FHA, and conventional loan options to make it easier for veterans to identify the differences and decide which loan type might be best for them.

Additionally, the bill would exclude veterans' disability benefits from being used to determine their income eligibility for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, meaning more veterans might meet the program's financial qualifications.

Could the bill actually make housing more affordable

The bill attempts to make housing more affordable, but it's tackling a tremendous housing shortage. Its effort to ban corporate investors from buying more than 350 single-family homes seems like a step in the right direction, but experts like UBS report that institutional investors only account for about 3% of single-family rentals.

Experts argue that the housing shortage is so significant that years of sustained construction may be required before the gap begins to close and any meaningful affordability improvements may be seen.

The bill's future

After receiving notable bipartisan support in the House and Senate, the bill was presented to President Trump to be signed. However, Trump canceled Wednesday's signing event and said that he won't sign the legislation until the SAVE America Act is passed.

"Today's Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency," Trump wrote. "Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT."

According to Constitutional law, if a bill has passed the House and Senate and it has been presented to the president, it may automatically become law if the president doesn't sign or veto it within 10 days, excluding Sundays, while lawmakers are in session.

Bottom line

Having received rare bipartisan support, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act could potentially make it easier and more affordable to buy a house, helping Americans achieve the dream of homeownership. It's also worth noting that the bill passed in a midterm election year, when divisions between Democrats and Republicans are often more pronounced, signaling that these housing challenges are a cause both parties are willing to stand behind.

At this time, the bill's future is uncertain, but be sure to follow the news for updates about whether it becomes law. If you're planning to buy a house in the future, this is the time to prepare yourself financially, save up a down payment, and work on improving your credit to increase your chances of being approved for a mortgage.

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