House passes housing affordability bill that softens institutional investor ban

Key Points:

• A bipartisan housing affordability package, an amended version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, passed the House with a 396-13 vote and previously cleared the Senate, aiming to address the housing crisis through expanded loans, relaxed permitting, increased manufactured housing, and limits on Wall Street's ownership of single-family homes.
• The House and Senate bills share broad goals but differ on restricting institutional investors; the House bill adopts a softer stance by removing the requirement for investors to sell build-to-rent properties and instead creates a tenant hotline, while the Senate bill imposes stricter limits including a ban on investors owning more than 350 single-family homes.
• The legislation seeks to boost housing supply via streamlined environmental reviews, grants for local planning, office-to-residential conversions, and easing restrictions on manufactured homes by eliminating the federal requirement for a permanent wheeled chassis, potentially lowering costs by $5,000 to $10,000 per home.
• The bill also aims to improve access to traditional mortgages for manufactured home owners, addressing a long-standing barrier since these homes have been treated like personal property rather than real estate.
• The final version of the bill requires reconciliation between the House and Senate versions, with Senate Banking Committee leaders engaging bipartisan senators to resolve differences before the measure reaches President Donald Trump, who has expressed support for the Senate’s stricter approach.