Young Voters Want Congress to Act on Housing Costs Now

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, about half the people who rent or live with family believe both of these statements are true:

(a) I’d like to buy a home, but don’t have affordable options in my area.

(b) U.S. housing is so expensive that I’ll likely never be able to hold the deed to my own home.

How can this be considered acceptable in a country with so much wealth? Why won’t Congress act on housing affordability?

Most voters have run out of patience. The latest Bipartisan Policy Center survey on the matter shows four out of five voters want federal legislation—now. The strongest calls for action come from voters under 45.

A “Let Them Eat Cake” Attitude Is Not a Good Look.

So what’s the holdup? Didn’t Congress introduce the Housing for the 21st Century Act to improve overall housing affordability and help younger generations afford homes?

Well, that bill has been tangled up by spending priorities—partly out of the White House.

Here’s how it’s going. Republicans are gearing up to approve Secret Service funding, parts of which will support construction connected to the White House ballroom project. Meanwhile, the average worker struggles with fuel prices.

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told Politico that the look is “not good.” It’s certainly not.

Republican senators have already passed a version of the Act. They want House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass it, to let the voters know they’re being heard.

But Republicans in the House are balking. They want to change the language of the law. This would push it back to the Senate. There, it would have to be passed yet again.

Survey Says: Get Your Act Together, Congress!

Nearly nine in ten U.S. voters think it’s harder than ever to buy homes, according to a poll taken by Advocus Partners and released by the Bipartisan Policy Center. According to the late April poll of 1,000 voters across the political spectrum:

• About eight in ten people view housing costs as a major portion of their budgets, and more than half say housing costs make other financial responsibilities tougher to deal with.

• 89% of voters want Congress to work together, enact a plan, and make housing more affordable now.

• 77% want housing assistance programs funded.

• 84% support expanding access to affordable home financing.

• 65% want incentives for state and local governments to reform zoning to allow more homes.

Support for these actions is strongest among people aged 44 and younger.

A Ban on Companies Buying Up Houses Gets Complicated, But Voters Still Want It.

How do the Senate and House versions of the proposed law differ? The main sticking point is whether big companies should be allowed to accumulate more than 350 houses. Most voters—70%—say no.

Among those supporters, about a third (31%) say they would be less enthusiastic about the ban if it meant fewer rental homes were available. But more than a third say that doesn’t matter because massive house accumulation simply shouldn’t exist.

In short, most voters surveyed want to stop owners of 350+ houses from accumulating any more.  

Notably, the ban would allow for exceptions. Companies could buy dilapidated homes to restore. And they could acquire deeds to new homes made for renting, as long as they’d agree to sell the properties after seven to ten years, and give their renters the first option to buy.

Voters generally support this, as they generally support affordability actions of all kinds. And they want federal legislation now. More than 60% will be more inclined to vote for a Congress member who supports enacting the law. (Only 4% would be less inclined.) 

But companies don’t want to deal with such regulations, and they’re pushing back against this proposed law.

A Builders Group Ran Its Own Poll. People Want Support for Upgrades—Not Just for New Construction.

Among those employed in the home construction industry, zoning and building codes are often cited as reasons for area housing shortages that turn into higher prices for deed seekers. Also noted is the need for more people to become skilled construction workers.

Last year, a national online survey sought the views of 20,028 people on the state of U.S. housing. The polling company Morning Consult ran the survey. It was commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

The mission? To examine U.S. residents’ opinions on how to approach the shortage of homes, and offer people financially accessible choices. The results? Check them out:

• Across the country, more than eight out of ten of us believe that finding affordable homes has become a problem in the local area where we live.

• And more than seven out of ten think it would be helpful to adopt reasonable, cost-effective building codes that promote more affordable housing.

• Nearly seven in ten people surveyed think that supporting skilled jobs in construction would help make housing more accessible to people of various income levels.

• Of the survey respondents, 75% said they think U.S. taxpayers understand that tax law and policy can be instrumental in creating affordable housing. So they would support tax changes to help renters become deed holders.

• About seven in ten people surveyed would back a federal tax law to stimulate the creation of affordable homes.

Asked about the state of U.S. housing, most people acknowledge that much of it needs refurbishing—particularly in the area of energy efficiency. Two-thirds of the people surveyed believe lawmakers need to support deed holders who want to upgrade their older homes. Most U.S. deed holders own homes constructed in the 1970s and earlier.  

And when asked who should design the energy codes that guide new construction, most people surveyed said the applicable standards should be tailored at the local or state level. Only one in ten want federal standards. Yet energy-efficiency standards are increasingly produced at the federal level.

Is the federal government listening to current and hopeful deed holders themselves about what matters to them? What do you think? Let your representatives in D.C. know.