economy
The ROAD to Housing Act is good enough
America’s housing crisis isn’t complicated to diagnose. For decades, local governments have made it expensive, complicated, and legally fraught to build new homes, leading to a chronic mismatch between demand and supply. The national shortfall of homes is now somewhere between 4 million and 7 million units, and a generation of young families feels permanently priced out of the neighborhoods where they work. We know what the problem is, but for a bitterly divided Congress, the question remains: Can idealists on both sides stomach a bipartisan answer?
TL;DR
- The national housing shortfall is estimated at 4-7 million units, pricing out young families.
- The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to address the crisis with bipartisan support.
- Key provisions include supply-side reforms, an Innovation Fund to reward zoning reform, and modernization of manufactured housing.
- The bill supports accessory dwelling units and conversion of commercial properties to housing.
- Politically contentious elements include limits on large institutional investors owning single-family homes.
- Critics question the effectiveness and constitutionality of restricting institutional investors, suggesting it's more political than policy-driven.