Senate passes bill to improve housing affordability

In an 85-5 vote, the Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill aimed at improving housing affordability, a key cost-of-living concern. The bill was negotiated and approved on a bipartisan basis. The key provisions of the bill include giving local governments more flexibility on regulations to allow housing to be built more quickly, and curbing purchases of single-family homes by large financial institutions. A provision requiring large institutions that already own at least 350 homes to sell them within 7 years was stripped out due to objections in the House. The bill must now go to the House for approval and could soon be ready for President Trump to sign it.

The bill has been tossed around in committees and in wranglings between the two chambers of Congress for months. Its revival comes at a time when cost-of-living is a pressing concern for many Americans. The Iran war has exacerbated stubborn inflation and increased the costs of gas, food and other key consumer goods.

Trump was re-elected in 2024 on a promise to address high inflation and bring relief to Americans’ pocketbooks. However, polls have consistently shown that Americans see things headed in the wrong direction in terms of affordability. Two weeks ago, a YouGov poll found that 63% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.

While increasing the stock of available homes surely will check skyrocketing housing prices, it will likely be years before homebuyers notice any appreciable difference resulting from the provisions in this bill.