The Senate passed a bipartisan housing bill on Monday that aims to reduce federal regulations and expand local control, one of the most sweeping efforts in recent decades to increase supply and bring down prices.

Housing Costs Are a Concern for Both Parties

Republicans and Democrats have embraced the bill as a way to show they are addressing the nation’s affordability crisis, driven in part by rising home prices due to a shortage of affordable housing. The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows.

The bill, which passed 85-5 and now heads to the House, has been the focus of intense negotiations in recent weeks as lawmakers in both parties try to address housing costs in an election year. The final version of the legislation bans corporate investors from buying single-family homes but doesn’t include a Senate provision that would have required investors to sell newly constructed homes within seven years.

Changes for Grants, Section 8 and Manufactured Housing

To increase the supply of housing, the bill would streamline environmental reviews and speed up the construction process. It would offer funding to local governments that build more housing, including Community Development Block Grant money to places exceeding the median rate of homebuilding.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.