By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan affordable housing bill on Monday as Congress attempts to finish work on it by the end of this week and clear the way for President Donald Trump to sign the legislation into law.
The measure is designed to increase the availability of affordable single-family homes at a time when high consumer prices are voters’ main worry ahead of November midterm elections. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for final passage.
Here are five important elements of the legislation, called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act:
AIMING TO FIX A HOUSING SHORTAGE
The United States has been struggling with a shortage of affordable housing for years. The causes range from outdated regulations pushing up the cost of home-building to the 2008 financial crisis that has left a lasting mark, especially in southeastern states, the industrial Midwest and parts of the Southwest.
There are varying estimates on the number of new homes needed, from 1.5 million to 7.3 million.
PLACING RESTRAINTS ON LARGE, INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
The legislation would restrict the number of single-family homes that Wall Street investment firms could control to 350 per firm. This latest version of the bill deleted a Senate provision that would have forced those investors to sell off the holdings within seven years.
Proponents of the cap argue large investors help pump up prices by outbidding individual buyers.
LEGISLATING SPEEDIER PERMITTING
Environmental reviews for construction projects would be waived or sped up, and more financing would be freed through federal block grants to states. A U.S. Department of Agriculture rural housing program would be revamped.
Overall, the bill is a compilation of 36 housing measures passed under one bill by the Senate in March and 11 by the House in May.
EYEING POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS
Trump and his fellow Republicans campaigned hard in 2024 on a promise of tackling inflation and the resulting high cost of living. The opposite has occurred.
The annual rate of inflation in the United States was 4.2% for the 12 months ending in May, the highest in over three years, largely due to higher energy costs stemming from the U.S. war on Iran. Even with a potential peace deal, it could take a while for energy and related prices to come down.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now at 6.47%, up from 6.11% in mid-March.
With the midterm election campaigns now heating up, Republicans and Democrats want to be able to have something tangible to show they are trying to address voters’ demands with this housing bill.
EXPANDING THE POOL OF BUYERS
With the average first-time home buyer now 40 years old, according to backers of the bill, the goal is to help younger people get into the housing market.
A pilot program would increase access to small-dollar mortgages with principal balances of $100,000 or less, for example.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, said the bill would “lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape.”
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the senior Democrat on the committee, called it “the biggest housing bill in more than 30 years.”
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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