U.S. Housing Affordability Politics: What Is Still Possible?

Is it possible to offer real relief to people struggling with our housing affordability challenge? If so, then how? What do you think?

Many of us have very good ideas. Can our law and policy makers hear us?

The need for affordable U.S. housing has been left hanging way too long. So let’s look at what people are suggesting…and what our members of Congress might actually do about the situation this year.

The Majority of U.S. Households Want Their Deeds in Their Own Names

Statistically speaking, most people want to own. But most of those who don’t own, can’t. That’s the word from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

NAR ran a new poll to understand the public’s take on housing affordability. Here’s what people said:

• More than three-fourths of those surveyed think now is not the time to buy a home. Prices are too high, and affordable offerings are too hard to find.

• More than three-fourths of those surveyed feel that they will never be able to get their own deeds.

NAR threw some ideas out there, and asked what policies could best support first-time home buyers. Eighty-four percent of respondents like the idea of allowing for tax-free savings for down payments. Most want breaks for taxpayers facing a capital gains tax, and most would support doubling the capital gains exemption to drive sales. But let’s face it. The capital gains exemption is hefty enough right now to cover plenty of gains on affordable homes. So let’s get energetic about this.

It bears noting that we’re not the only country dealing with affordable housing challenges. Belgian developers have turned a soap factory into accessibly priced housing. Similarly, developers in Chicago repurposed a hotel… and we’ve talked earlier here about the importance of office-to-home conversions. This is known as adaptive reuse. The old adage about necessity and invention is as true as it ever was.

Hitting a Bump in the ROAD to Housing Act

The Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream (ROAD) to Housing Act is being led by Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren, together with Tim Scott, a Republican and the chair of the Senate’s Banking Committee. The ROAD Act encompasses new grants to stimulate policy. It also makes funds much more accessible for people whose homes have been damaged in federally declared disaster events. Counties would have funding to carry out housing and infrastructure repair, provide essential services to residents, and restore local economies.

Counties would also get more tools to house those who need homes. And they’d have access to grants to support “upzoning”—more units of housing on individual parcels of property. Attractive incentives would be made available for counties that bolster their housing supply and need infrastructure funds  to support the effort.

There’s also aid in the bill for the USDA’s Rural Housing Service offerings. Rural residents with modest incomes would have access to more reliable support.

Last July, the Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs unanimously greenlighted the bill. But…

In late 2025, the final draft of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) dropped parts of the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act. This happened after some Representatives, among them Financial Services Committee chair French Hill, decided that House Republicans weren’t sufficiently on board. And…

There went the chance for U.S. residents to get the best bipartisan housing reform law in years.

Now, the House Is Promoting the Housing for the 21st Century Act

In December 2025, after ROAD failed to make its way into law, news emerged from the House Financial Services Committee. Republicans were ready to back the Housing for the 21st Century Act. As the name implies, its goal is to bring affordability initiatives up to date.

This new bill also drew bipartisan support. Sponsored by Arkansas’s French Hill, it received the backing of California Democrat Maxine Waters and more.

Like its predecessor, it would fund more housing, update federal programs, and cut red tape. It rewards private investment in housing for people of modest incomes.

It would also improve the options in the market for manufactured homes. It one-upped the ROAD act with its grant opportunities for local housing planners.

But the Housing for the 21st Century Act does not offer everything that the ROAD to Housing Act did. For example, it does not add to the incentives tied to transit-oriented development, and it does not include the same disaster recovery elements.

If this House and Senate bills could be blended, Congress would be able to keep funding and improving Home Investment Partnerships (the HOME initiative). Meanwhile, the HOME Reform Act, sponsored by Nebraska Republican Senator Mike Flood and Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, could stimulate the production of safe, sanitary, and affordable housing for renters.

HOME funds have already been helping local governments (directly or through their states).  

For decades, state housing finance agencies have nourished affordable housing, boosted households with modest incomes, and worked hard to uplift the nation’s housing options. Read more about current pressure on states to deal with housing costs.

Can We Get This Show on the ROAD Again?

Advocates keep pushing for the ROAD Act to be reconsidered this year. Given that they now both have housing bills, the House and Senate will need to resolve the differences before a finalized federal law can be ready to enact.

So, the good news is the bipartisan commitment to make serious reforms. Unfortunately, though, the continuing resolution deadline of January 30, 2026 has now passed without a housing bill. A new continuing resolution, or a new funding package, is now needed urgently, even to continue funding that local governments already offer.

Is there any other way to get these bills into law? Some are suggesting the Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill.

One way or another, it’s time for the thing to get done. After all the setbacks for housing bills over many recent months, the Senate seems to have maintained some interest. And that will be the key to something, some day, working out.