House lawmakers have cleared a sweeping bipartisan housing package designed to chip away at the nation’s affordability crisis by nudging states and cities to build more homes and pare back construction hurdles.
House Overwhelmingly Backs Sweeping Housing Package
The Housing for the 21st Century Act, led by House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) and ranking member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), passed the chamber 390-9 on Monday, an unusually lopsided vote in a polarized Congress.
The bill bundles more than 20 provisions, including new studies by the Government Accountability Office on gaps in federal housing programs and updates to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program, while offering incentives for localities that relax zoning and other barriers to construction.
Senate To Reshape Bill Amid Funding Concerns
The legislation, which advanced out of committee 50–1 in December, now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to reshape it and negotiate a final compromise. Waters has warned that policy tweaks alone won’t solve the shortage if core rental and homeownership programs remain underfunded, saying “these programs must be funded if they are going to work.”
Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) last year advanced their own bipartisan package, the ROAD to Housing Act, which the Senate folded into its version of the defense authorization bill before the housing language was stripped in final negotiations.
Broad Coalition Rallies Behind Supply-Focused Approach
Warren later blasted House Republicans for blocking the measure, arguing it would have cut costs by expanding supply and modernizing a range of federal programs. Hill has since said getting a housing bill across the finish line is a shared goal with Scott and pledged to work toward a version both chambers can send to the president’s desk.
More than 50 industry and advocacy groups have lined up behind Hill’s bill, including the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition, American Hotel & Lodging Association and Americans for Prosperity, showcasing broad support for a supply-focused approach.
Key housing stocks saw minimal movement on the back of the bipartisan housing package being passed. Opendoor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN) moved 0.20% to $4.94 in after-hours trading, while Offerpad Solutions Inc. (NYSE:OPAD) saw share prices move 2.25% to $0.89. Elsewhere, Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) shares edged lower by 0.17% to $380.34, while Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW) slid 0.82% to $276.00. Meanwhile, Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF (NYSE:VNQ) was up 0.28% to $92.90, while iShares US Real Estate ETF (NYSE:IYR) climbed 0.05% to $98.11 at the time of writing.
Image via Shutterstock/ Bill Perry
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