21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Passes Into Law

The bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed into law at 12:01 a.m. ET July 11, marking one of the most significant federal housing packages in decades. As he vowed on July 10, President Donald Trump did not sign off on the bill, withholding his signature in protest over the Senate’s failure to pass the controversial election security legislation known as the SAVE America Act. 

Trump did not say he would veto the bill, which will hopefully lower costs for homebuyers and slow institutional investors, and ended up not doing so. The U.S. Constitution states that if the president does not veto a bill within 10 days of receiving it, excepting Sundays, the bill “shall be a Law,” as if he had signed it. The bill was approved by a vote of 358-32 in the House of Representatives, and by a vote of 85-5 in the Senate. 

The omnibus bill is intended to address a wide array housing-related challenges, focused specifically on increasing inventory and addressing long-running affordability challenges, and has largely been supported by advocates across the real estate industry.

“It takes years of trust, persistence and bipartisan partnership to move a package of this scope across the finish line,” said National Association of Realtors®(NAR)  Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn in a statement, with NAR calling the legislation a “culmination” of “NAR’s largest coordinated advocacy campaigns in recent years.”

Among other things, the bill incentivizes local governments to reduce red tape for building new homes, expands the definition of manufactured housing and places some restrictions on institutional investors purchasing single-family homes.

Realtor.com® Senior Economist Joel Berner specifically noted that while the bill’s provisions are “much longer-reaching” and most are not immediately impactful beyond that of manufactured housing. 

He continued that there won’t be an immediate drop in home prices or mortgage rates, which continue to plague buyers, but over time with building “encouraged in the places that need it the most, the places where it’s currently hard to build due to regulatory burden, supply growth can close the housing shortage.”

“Homeownership remains a goal for millions of Americans, but there have been too few homes available,” added Chris Lim, REMAX president and chief growth officer. “This legislation recognizes that increasing housing supply is a critical part of the solution. While there is still work ahead, giving communities more tools to encourage development is a meaningful first step toward a more balanced market that will help buyers compete and support long-term homeownership growth.”

Janet Murguia, president and CEO of UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, issued the following statement after the act became law.

“For far too many Americans, including Latino families, finding an affordable place to live or achieving the dream of homeownership has become out of reach in recent years,” she said. “Today, we celebrate a hard-fought victory that shows what is possible when we come together, across sectors and party lines, to put families first. Congress has passed the most transformative housing legislation in a generation. This historic bill is now law, a testament to the power of persistent advocacy by organizations like UnidosUS and our partners, as well as bipartisan congressional action, to meet the needs of America’s families.

“And at a time when rising housing costs place an enormous pressure on working families, the law will help address Americans’ top priority: affordability. It will help expand the nation’s housing supply, strengthen pathways to homeownership and make housing more affordable for families who have been priced out of opportunity for too long. While there is still more work to do, today we take a meaningful step toward ensuring every family has the opportunity to build stability, create wealth and thrive in a community they can afford to call home.”

The American Land Title Association (ALTA), the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, issued the following statement after the Act became law:

“The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act represents a significant step forward in expanding America’s housing supply, modernizing federal housing policy and improving access to the American dream of homeownership. At a time when housing affordability remains a top concern for families across the country, this new law demonstrates that leaders in Washington can come together around practical solutions that help homebuyers, homeowners and communities.

“This is a big win for the American people. Homeownership is one of the most important ways families build stability, security and generational wealth, and the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is an important step toward helping more Americans achieve that dream.”

Editor’s note: this story was updated with more reactions from around the industry and additional information on July 13.