United States – July 29: From left, D-Minn. Senators Tina Smith Tim Scott, Senator Tina Smith and ranking member Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. attends Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. |Getty Images
The Senate committee approved a major housing bill this week, with a range of provisions that could make it easier for people to buy a home.
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs voted unanimously to advance new opportunities from America’s dream of 2025 to housing.
The bill, sponsored by committee chairperson Sen. Tim Scott, and ranking member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are the first bipartisan markup for a housing in over a decade.
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The bill was announced on the Senate floor, but there are no plans for discussion yet.
Here’s what tenants and home buyers need to know about the bill.
The road to housing is not a panacea
According to the text, the Housing Act of 2025 aims to increase the country’s housing supply, improve affordability, reduce homelessness, expand access to homeownership, and help to increase the monitoring and efficiency of federal regulations and housing programs.
The housing market is becoming increasingly affordable for many Americans. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median selling price in June was $435,000. Interest rates continue to rise, as sellers are keeping their homes and potential buyers on the sidelines.
“Many households don’t even have the chance to afford or rent,” says Mark Zandy, chief economist at Moody’s Analysis.
In 2023, half of U.S. tenants, or 22.6 million tenants, were “cost-bearing” according to a recent report from Harvard University’s Center for Housing Research.
Alice Cohen, director of federal housing advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center, said trade associations and local elected officials have expressed support for housing packages, but it is “not a panacea.”
Furthermore, most of the provisions aim to make more housing easier for local governments, changes that could ultimately increase supply and facilitate prices. Still, some provisions in the bill have a direct impact on individuals and communities.
“It’s a series of measures, some of which are bold, some of which are modest and some of which can be useful.
“Potpourri of various efforts”
The road to housing is “potpourri of different efforts” to increase the supply of housing, Zandi said.
The housing package provision would simplify the construction of manufactured homes by eliminating federal requirements for permanent chassis or foundations and expanding lending and financing options.
Formerly known as mobile homes, manufactured homes consist of factories built homes transported in one or more sections. Currently, the Housing and Urban Development Agency says it must be installed in a permanent chassis.
Homes like these are affordable to manufacture and sell, and are popular in the South where housing shortages are particularly severe,” Zandi said.
With some changes to lending and regulations, “we may see more homes manufactured, which could be very useful in improving homeownership,” he said.
Other provisions could have a direct impact on individuals, Cohen said.
For example, the bill permanently allows the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program by HUD, which provides resources to states, tribes and communities to rebuild homes after a natural disaster.
Individuals can receive assistance from federal emergency management agencies after a disaster, but if funds are needed to rebuild, the CDBG-DR program will provide the necessary funding.
Now, Congress must allow it regularly, or allow it after a disaster, Cohen said.
This is “one of the most important achievements” of the package, Cohen said.
This is a series of measurements, some of which are bold, some of which are modest, some of which are useful, some of which may be harmful. Overall, it’s a hope that it’s an important step.
Alice Cohen
Director of Federal Housing Advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center
Another provision will help low-income and rural homeowners with USDA direct loan mortgages qualify for monetary relief.
If people have government-supported mortgages and need to cut mortgage payments, one way to do that is by extending the term of the loan, Cohen said. Currently, direct loan borrowers with USDA loans do not have that option.
“This bill will fix that issue,” she said.
However, it remains unclear whether that whole bill “meets the needs of many people who need it most.”
