Unsettled Wednesday, then cooler before heating up next week

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Sign up for alerts on breaking news and exclusive reporting from NPR

Democrats in Congress hailed it as the biggest housing bill in decades. Republicans called it a win for families across the country. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt 

 as "one of the most significant pieces of housing legislation in American history." And in June, both houses of Congress passed it with broad bipartisan support.

On Truth Social that month, Trump dismissed the bill — officially called the 21st Century Road to Housing Act — as 

 a White House signing ceremony, stipulating that he would only sign if Congress passed a strict voter ID bill called the 

. That bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot. It has stalled in the Senate, where it doesn't have the 60 votes to pass.

"To me, compared to the SAVE America Act, just about everything is a big yawn," Trump told reporters in June.

Then on Friday morning, Trump doubled down on that refusal, posting on Truth Social: "I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT."

When reached for comment, the White House referred NPR to the president's post.

But a bill can become law even without the president's signature, and the clock had already started ticking on June 29, when House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered the legislation to Trump for either a signature or veto. That 10-day clock was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. ET Friday. Without action from the president, the bill would become law automatically.

That's how, at the stroke of midnight, the bill became law without Trump's signature.

The housing law aims to make homeownership more affordable, primarily by encouraging homebuilding across the country.

It's packed with more than 40 provisions, contributed by both Republicans and Democrats, on everything from corporate home ownership to manufactured home construction, which helps explain why it passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

So does lawmakers' recognition that home prices have skyrocketed past what many families can afford. According to 

afford fewer than a quarter of the home listings

Housing affordability is a potent electoral issue, and both parties are hoping to claim credit for passing legislation meant to address it ahead of the midterms.

Despite Trump downplaying the law, it includes an idea he promoted: capping how many single-family homes big investors can buy. The law says corporate landlords that own at least 350 houses won't be able to buy more. The goal is to make the housing market more competitive for individual buyers, who are often outbid by investors who can make all-cash offers.

Some Democratic lawmakers had long supported such a ban; Republicans were more skeptical until Trump backed the idea. Still, House Republicans did quash part of the ban that would have required developers of 

 to sell off those rentals after seven years.

It's not clear yet how much of a change this cap will make on the housing market. Nationally, these large investors only own about 3% of the single-family rental market, although private equity owns a much 

 of the real estate in some cities and neighborhoods.

Researchers at the government-backed housing finance company Freddie Mac say private equity is only a 

 of the housing shortage, since they typically buy up cheap homes in need of significant repair. And staff at both the left-leaning Urban Institute and right-leaning Taxpayers Protection Alliance argue private equity can actually 

the housing shortage by renovating homes that would have otherwise fallen out of the market.

Other provisions are meant to boost homebuilding, such as by allowing developers to skip an environmental review if a house is going up between two buildings that were already reviewed.

Another provision creates a grant program communities can use to develop "pattern books," a collection of preapproved housing designs that would need fewer approvals before construction.

Manufactured homes, which are generally cheaper than homes built on site, also get a break. The law removes a requirement that they have a permanent chassis, a steel frame that makes those homes movable. Housing policy experts say that could save $5,000 to $10,000 in construction costs per home and make more elaborate designs, such as a second story, easier to build.

And while the law doesn't add any new housing funding to the federal budget, it's designed to encourage home construction by sending more of the existing funding to communities that build more.

Decisions in Washington typically have less influence on housing markets than those made within the halls of local government or a private developer's office.

Local zoning rules can slow down or prohibit construction — and the federal law doesn't make changes to those rules. Homebuilders may choose to not pick up their hammers if market conditions aren't right, and developers have been 

 about those conditions for the last three years, partially due to high material and labor costs.

And Congress doesn't control mortgage rates, another important factor in housing affordability. Rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage are currently around 6.5% on average, much higher than they were a few years ago during the pandemic.

Even if builders start new development projects, additional homes will take time to hit the market and any affordability improvements won't be felt for years, according to Sarah Brundage, president of the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders. She said this also explains why Congress hasn't bothered with housing legislation for so long: A single development — from construction start to market — can take longer than an elected official's term.

But Brundage said housing affordability has reached the point where lawmakers can no longer do nothing. In June, the median existing home cost 

 And while local reform needs to happen, Brundage said, the federal law is a needed first step.

"We have to take the time to celebrate that we have bipartisan champions," Brundage said. "Moving forward in 2028 and beyond, I don't think anyone can run for public office without having a perspective of how housing needs to be prioritized."

Politics and Government News

Homepage

Stephan Bisaha

Author

President Donald Trump refused to sign the bill without Congress first passing his sweeping voter ID bill.

Largest housing affordability bill in decades becomes law without Trump's signature

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox