The House of Representatives passed a major bipartisan housing bill on June 23, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk.
The 21st Century Road to Housing Act—legislation aimed at boosting supply and lowering prices—overwhelmingly passed in the lower chamber with a vote of 358–32.
This comes one day after the Senate voted 83–5 to pass the bill, following a months-long standoff between the two chambers.
It represented one of the biggest housing affordability bills in three decades.
"We are cutting red tape, unlocking housing supply, and preserving local control," Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said in a statement on June 23.
"I look forward to President Trump signing that legislation into law."
Both sides of the aisle have advocated for policy reform to restore housing affordability.
“Housing affordability starts with supply, and this bill makes meaningful progress toward building more homes and lowering costs for American families," House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) said in a statement.
Leaders in the House and Senate have disagreed on various provisions of the legislation, including the administration's idea to restrict institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes.
The Senate version wanted to mandate that build-to-rent single-family developers sell their units within seven years.
The House instead suggested softer measures, including a broad array of exemptions.
The amended bill keeps a 350-unit cap but eliminates the seven-year mandate.
It also contains a wide array of other features to reduce review and permitting times, extend financial incentives to state and local governments, and deregulate small banks and credit unions to facilitate mortgage lending.
Overall, these efforts aim to loosen regulations on home construction and increase inventories.
The comprehensive housing package is the first step toward addressing the housing shortage, says Neil Bradley, chief policy officer and head of strategic advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“This supply-focused package would incentivize housing development by modernizing federal housing programs, reducing regulatory barriers, preserving residential and multifamily rental housing options, increasing pathways to homeownership, and encouraging much-needed investment and new construction,” Bradley said.
A recent Realtor.com report found that the United States was short more than 4 million homes last year and that almost 2 million Generation Z and millennial households are "missing" from the housing market.
Housing payments have risen sizably in recent months.
The median monthly housing payment reached $2,647 in the four weeks ending on June—about $100 shy of the all-time high registered in 2023—Redfin data show.
The jump is fueled by climbing home sale prices—the median cost is almost $404,000—and higher average mortgage rates.
For the week ending June 18, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.47 percent, up nearly 50 basis points from before the war in Iran in late February, according to Freddie Mac.
But it has been down more than 30 basis points from a year ago.
CBDC Ban
Inside the key housing legislation is a four-year ban on a central bank digital currency, also known as a CBDC.The bill prohibits the Federal Reserve from creating a digital dollar until 2030.
While the president signed an executive order in January 2025 banning a CBDC, congressional Republicans inserted similar language into the housing bill.
"The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or a Federal Reserve Bank may not issue or create a central bank digital currency or any digital asset that is substantially similar to a central bank digital currency directly or indirectly through a financial institution or other intermediary," the text stated.
Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, during his Senate confirmation hearing in April, said a CBDC is a "bad policy choice" for the central bank.
“Digital assets are already part of the fabric of our financial services industry in the United States,” Warsh said.
His predecessor, Jerome Powell, had committed to not developing a digital currency.