Senate Republicans Are Advancing Legislation to Address the Cost of Housing

IN RECENT YEARS, THE PRICE OF BUYING A HOME HAS SKYROCKETED, CAUSING HOME OWNERSHIP TO SLIP OUT OF REACH FOR MANY AMERICANS – ESPECIALLY YOUNGER PEOPLE

• “Brick by brick, regulation by regulation, America built its own housing crisis. Experts say the problem is cemented into the foundation of the U.S. housing system, a design flaw decades in the making. They point to three major forces doing the most damage: restrictive zoning, land-use barriers, and financial policies that have choked supply and pushed prices out of reach.” (Fox Business: The top 3 reasons housing has become so unaffordable in the US market – and it’s not what you think – 11/11/25)

• • As of November 2024, Freddie Mac estimated that the U.S. housing supply was short 3.7 million units “relative to long-run housing demand.” (Freddie Mac: Housing Supply: Still Undersupplied by Millions of Units – 11/26/24)

• “The biggest obstacle is affordability. Home prices have surged about 50 percent since the pandemic. Today, buyers need to earn roughly $93,000 to afford a typical home with a 20 percent down payment, up from the $52,000 needed in February 2020, according to data from the real estate marketplace Zillow.” (The New York Times: It’s a Buyer’s Market, but Homeownership Eludes Many Americans – 1/23/26)

• • “Home prices hit a new all-time high in 2024, with the median at $412,500.” (USA Today: First-time buyers in the housing market are at an all-time low – 11/4/25)

(The New York Times: It’s a Buyer’s Market, but Homeownership Eludes Many Americans – 1/23/26)

• “A new Bankrate analysis has found that more than 75% of listings nationwide are out of financial reach for a median-income family, despite annual earnings hovering just under $80,000. To swing a median-priced home in 2025, buyers now need to earn roughly $113,000 a year, which is a gap that’s turning the starter-home dream into a math problem few can solve.” (New York Post: A whopping majority of homes on the market are completely unaffordable: report – 12/9/25)

• The share of first-time home buyers “has dropped to a record-low 21 percent, with the typical buyer now 40 years old, according to an annual survey from the National Association of Realtors. In 1987, data from the association showed, the typical first-time buyer was more than a decade younger — 29.” (The New York Times: It’s a Buyer’s Market, but Homeownership Eludes Many Americans – 1/23/26)

• • “The report attributed this to limited housing inventory and longer saving and search periods.” (Fox Business: American dream of homeownership slipping further out of reach for younger generations – 11/19/25)

(The New York Times: It’s a Buyer’s Market, but Homeownership Eludes Many Americans – 1/23/26)

• Mortgage rates have also skyrocketed: “And even for those who can scrape that together, monthly bills have skyrocketed. The average principal and interest payment has doubled since early 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors.”

(Bloomberg: Inflation Is Down, But Americans Still Fell an Affordability Squeeze – 2/18/26)

AMERICANS HAVE FELT THE PAIN OF HIGH HOUSING COSTS, AND YOUNG AMERICANS IN PARTICULAR RATE HOUSING AS THEIR TOP FINANCIAL CONCERN

• “Housing stands out as the problem that’s most on the minds of young people. In an open-ended poll question, around half of them said they worried most about affording housing, more than every other item combined, including retirement, health care, education, bills, cars and food.” (The New York Times: What Americans Really Mean by ‘Affordability’ – 1/29/26)

• • “Only 36 percent of young people said the home they would like was ‘within reach’ (or they already owned it), compared with 76 percent of those over 65.” (The New York Times: What Americans Really Mean by ‘Affordability’ – 1/29/26)

• • 54% of registered voters aged 18-29 agree with the sentiment that the home they would like to own “seems out of reach.” (The New York Times / Siena Poll – Jan. 2026)

• 25% of registered voters listed “housing” as their biggest financial worry, the only category to receive more than 20%. (The New York Times / Siena Poll – Jan. 2026)

• • 52% of registered voters aged 18-29 listed “housing” as their biggest financial worry. (The New York Times / Siena Poll – Jan. 2026)

• 51% of U.S. adults are pessimistic about “housing/real estate” in 2026. (CBS News Poll – Dec. 2025)

• 79% of U.S. adults believe it is “very difficult” (40%) or “somewhat difficult” (39%) “for families to find housing they can afford.” (The Economist / YouGov Poll – Jan. 2026)

• 54% of Americans agree with the statement “The cost [of housing] has gotten so high that is has become unaffordable.” (The New York Times / Siena Poll – Jan. 2026)

• • 63% of voters aged 18-29 and voters aged 30-44 agree. (The New York Times / Siena Poll – Jan. 2026)

THE ROAD TO HOUSING ACT IS LANDMARK DEREGULATORY LEGISLATION FOCUSED ON LOWERING HOUSING COSTS AND INCREASING SUPPLY

“This landmark legislation – the first of its kind in more than a decade – takes important steps to boost the nation’s housing supply, improve housing affordability, and increase oversight and efficiency of federal regulators and housing programs.” – Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.)

• “For the first time in a decade, Congress seems serious about getting something done on housing as prices increase and home-ownership becomes a far-fetched dream for a growing number of Americans.” (Politico: The long and winding road to housing legislation – 1/20/26)

• The ROAD to Housing Act was unanimously reported out of the Senate Banking Committee last July and is in line with President Trump’s goal of building more housing and making home ownership more attainable for Americans. (U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs: ICYMI: Chairman Scott Highlights Affordability Agenda, ROAD to Housing Act, and Previews Banking Committee Hearing with Treasury Secretary Bessent – 2/4/26; White House: President Trump Is Restoring the American Dream – 2/24/26)

• The legislation “would change the federal government’s role in housing and would limit barriers to construction imposed by localities and environmental rules. The bill contains provisions encouraging local and state governments to build more housing.” (Washington Examiner: Big week ahead for major legislation to address housing affordability woes – 3/2/26)

• Overall, the ROAD to Housing Act is a deregulatory bill that increases supply and lowers costs by:
  • Slashing outdated federal regulations to help “Make America Build Again,” including around environmental reviews, “empowering states, local governments, and Indian tribes to streamline reviews and increase housing development.”
  • Providing local governments with tools and incentives to increase housing supply.
  • Building on Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cuts law by modernizing financing choices, which will unlock billions in private capital.
  • Knocking down regulatory barriers and enacting reforms to make housing more affordable for veterans and rural families. (U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs: ROAD to Housing Act of 2025: Section-by-Section – accessed 3/2/26)