House approves major housing affordability bill, sending measure to Trump

Washington — The House on Tuesday passed a landmark housing affordability bill, marking a rare bipartisan legislative accomplishment as lawmakers seek to address rising costs ahead of the midterm elections.

House GOP leaders fast-tracked the legislation after the Senate approved it with overwhelming bipartisan support Monday. It passed the House in a 358 to 32 vote and now heads to President Trump to sign into law.

The legislation, known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, is the product of months of negotiations and aims to increase housing supply and lower prices. It places limits on corporate investors buying single-family homes, streamlines environmental reviews and removes regulatory barriers to speed up the construction process.

After months of back-and-forth, the four lawmakers spearheading the legislation announced an agreement to move forward. The push was led by the Senate Banking Committee's top Republican and Democrat, Sens. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and the chair and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, GOP Rep. French Hill of Arkansas and Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California.

"This final product advances practical, bipartisan and bicameral solutions to modernize federal housing programs, reduce regulatory burdens, streamline the development process and help build more homes to meet that growing demand and keep the American dream within reach," Hill said Tuesday on the House floor. "This bicameral bipartisan bill before us today reflects the ideas from both chambers and demonstrates what can be accomplished when Congress focuses on solving problems for the American people."

Earlier this month, the White House called on Congress to pass the bill, noting the provision setting restrictions on corporate investors owning single-family properties. A presidential proclamation called it "the most comprehensive and consequential housing legislation in the history of our country."

But how big of an impact the provision will have on affordability is up for debate. Large institutional investors account for just 3% of single-family rentals, or less than half a percent of the total single-family housing stock, according to the think tank Urban Institute. And many economists argue that surging home prices across much of the country have more to do with supply shortages than the presence of large investors in the market.

"A lot of people think that if we get rid of private equity, there will be all these houses available for sale for first-time homebuyers," said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at the real estate firm Redfin. "But that's not going to happen."

Lawmakers acknowledged there's still more work to do to address the housing crisis, but touted the legislation as a promising first step.

"Today's vote proves that it is possible to find bipartisan, common ground on legislation that actually helps the American people. And, importantly, it proves that bipartisan legislation doesn't have to be the weakest, most milquetoast agreement that doesn't offend anyone or do too much to help anyone either," Warren said in a floor speech ahead of Monday's vote.