New housing reform becomes law, betting on supply despite political drama

Congress enacted the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act into law, aiming to ease affordability by expanding housing supply through incentives for manufactured housing, office-to-apartment conversions, and a grants/loans program to repair older homes, plus prompts for state and local zoning reform. Implementation now hinges on HUD staffing and local action, so benefits may take years. The bill also imposes a first-of-its-kind cap on institutional buyers of single-family homes (no more than 350 per owner) but doesn’t force sales from large holders, and it does not address current high mortgage rates or the “lock-in” effect.