New Congress Eyes a ROAD 2.0 Housing Bill

Washington's next housing bill already has a working title. After Democrats won control of the House and Senate, advocates are pushing a "ROAD 2.0" package to follow the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, HousingWire reports ^[1][2].

That first law, enacted July 11, won 85 votes in the Senate and 358 in the House ^[1].

What is on the table

• The ROAD Act set up about a dozen programs with no money attached, so appropriations come first, according to policy analyst Andy Winkler ^[1].
• A second bill could revive proposals left out of the first, which drew on roughly 60 separate bills ^[1].
• Ideas in circulation include by-right "Right to Build Zones" and a revolving federal loan pool to finance housing ^[1].
• California voters separately approved $10 billion in state housing bonds under Proposition 1 ^[2].

But any bill still needs the White House. "The president has the veto," Winkler told HousingWire ^[1]. Democrats want tariff exemptions for building materials and more affordable housing money, while the administration favors deregulation, wrote Ken Wingert of the National Association of Home Builders ^[1]. HUD's workforce has reportedly shrunk by about 30%, which could slow the ROAD Act's rollout ^[1].

What it means for you

Building permits ran at a 1,398,000 annual pace in September, down 3.19% from a year earlier, according to the Census Bureau ^[4]. By our math, that is about 46,000 fewer permitted homes a year. Builders and landowners have the most riding on whether faster federal reviews and lower material costs make it into law ^[1].

Zoom out

HousingWire analyst Logan Mohtashami argues the midterms limit how far the trade war can escalate, which could mean the 10-year yield already peaked at 5.35% ^[3]. Housing policy and mortgage rates are now moving on the same calendar.