President Donald Trump is set to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, a bipartisan federal bill that aims to tackle the nation's severe housing shortage by boosting supply, cutting red tape, and limiting the ability of large institutional investors to buy up single-family homes.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the signing on X on Tuesday, writing, "This bipartisan bill includes policies long championed by the President. It cuts unnecessary red tape, helps increase housing supply, and limits the ability of large institutional investors to purchase single-family homes. As the President has said, homes should be owned by American families, not large corporations."
Leavitt also noted the Senate passed the bill 85-5, underscoring rare cross-aisle consensus.
The legislation includes more than 45 provisions aimed at increasing housing supply, reducing costs, and improving affordability, including an Innovation Fund for communities that expand housing stock and targeted support for rural and manufactured housing.
Why This Bill Exists
The bill arrives as housing affordability continues to worsen. A study by the National Association of Home Builders found that regulations now add an average of $131,734 to the cost of a new single-family home, accounting for 26.4% of the final sale price — a figure that has risen 40% since 2021. The association also estimates the U.S. housing shortage at about 1.2 million units.
Last week, The Kobeissi Letter reported that housing starts fell 15.4% month over month in May to an annualized rate of 1.18 million units, the lowest level since May 2020. Multifamily housing starts dropped 40.2% to 284,000 units.
What It Means For Investors
Federal Reserve data show the median U.S. home price is now about $403,000, up 77% from roughly $227,000 in 2011. Buyers are also spending about 42% of their income on housing, highlighting the growing strain on affordability.
The bill introduces structural demand-side headwinds for real estate investment trusts and single-family rental operators. However, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather cautioned that institutional investors could restructure holdings through smaller entities to sidestep ownership caps, limiting real-world supply relief.
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act marks the most significant federal housing legislation in more than 30 years, arriving as the median U.S. home price has more than tripled since 1990 and homeownership rates among adults under 35 sit near their lowest levels in years.
