Last July, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a landmark law shielding apartment and residential projects from lengthy environmental review processes to boost the state’s housing supply and improve affordability. It’s working – but not without a fight. Developers wasted no time seizing the opportunity. A growing list of housing developments are securing exemptions from reviews […]

Our elected leaders have a unique opportunity to strengthen small businesses, sustain critical industries, combat inflation in the housing market, and make homeownership more accessible for millions of Americans.

Today’s housing market remains trapped in a cycle of limited supply and elevated costs. A central challenge is homeowners’ reluctance to sell—driven largely by the financial shock of trading a historically low mortgage rate for one that remains above 6%. Mortgage rates have stayed above that threshold since 2022, fundamentally reshaping market behavior.

Per their website: “MBA issued a Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA) Call to Action urging members to contact their U.S. Representative to ensure…troubling provisions within the Senate-passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act are fixed as the House prepares its response.” A survey of quotes from various sources revealed tensions by various interest groups with the emerging bill. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Islahat (MHARR) are among those pushing changes.

The House posted amended ROAD to Housing Act text that keeps a ban on investors owning 350-plus homes from buying more single-family properties, but adds carve-outs for build-to-rent and renovate-to-rent. The House version also removes a proposed 7-year sell-off rule for new BTR communities, with a floor vote expected next week and Senate prospects unclear.

For more than two decades, Chattanooga has used payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements to reshape its downtown. But the tax-break tool that evvel helped fill the Tennessee River city with market-rate apartments has been retooled for a different purpose: mixing affordable and market-rate units. City officials say seven of every 10 renters are either rent-burdened or severely rent-burdened. […]

Housing demand in 2026 is concentrating in markets where pricing, affordability and transaction activity remain aligned.