The first major piece of housing affordability legislation in three decades is now law, concluding an extended saga that included months of congressional negotiations and a last-minute decision by President Trump not to sign the bill.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to tackle the housing affordability crisis by encouraging more homebuilding and expanding financing options. The law’s many provisions include grants for local governments that ease zoning restrictions and expand the housing supply, streamlined environmental review processes, reduced construction costs for manufactured homes, and restrictions on large corporate investors buying single-family homes.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The law passed the House and the Senate by broad bipartisan margins in late June, but hit a snag when Trump canceled the signing ceremony for the bill, saying that congressional Republicans should instead focus on passing a strict voter identification law known as the SAVE America Act.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
He later called the housing legislation “a yawn” and “unimportant.”\u00a0 <\/p>\n
However, because Trump didn’t veto the bill and Congress remained in session, an obscure constitutional provision meant it became law without his signature following a 10-day waiting period.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Hours before the waiting period expired, Trump took to Truth Social to reiterate that he would withhold his signature to protest stalled progress on the SAVE America Act. The voter identification legislation doesn’t have enough support in the Senate to overcome a filibuster.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Broad segments of the housing industry, including associations representing homebuilders, mortgage lenders, multifamily housing owners, and low-income homeowners, applauded the housing law’s passage, which comes just after median home prices hit a new all-time high of $440,600.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Most laws governing construction and housing supply are set locally, but the federal law’s incentives for local governments that enact pro-housing policies should ultimately help address the shortage, said Jeanna Kenney, assistant professor of economics, finance, and real estate at Villanova School of Business.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
“It’s exciting to see the federal government trying to play a little bit of a hand in encouraging supply at the local level,” Kenney told Yahoo Finance. “The hope is that this instigates more collaboration across levels of government.”\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Claire Boston<\/a> is a Senior Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance. <\/p>\n Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n