The Senate passed a sweeping bipartisan housing bill on Monday by an 85-5 vote, aiming to expand housing supply and reduce prices by cutting federal red tape, expanding local control, and blocking private equity from buying single-family homes. The House is ex
By the time the Senate voted. housing costs were already sitting heavy in the background of nearly every conversation—politicians’ and voters’ alike. On Monday. the chamber approved a sweeping bipartisan housing bill meant to push more homes onto the market and bring prices down. using a mix of regulatory changes and new funding tools.
The final measure passed 85-5, and it now heads to the House, where lawmakers are expected to give final approval later this week before sending it to President Donald Trump. Trump has signaled his support.
At the center of the bill is an effort to reduce costs and expand supply by lowering federal constraints and giving more room to local governments. The legislation also includes a clear break with one investment practice: it bans corporate investors from buying single-family homes. But it does not include an earlier Senate provision that would have required investors to sell newly constructed homes within seven years.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., framed the package as the product of years of work. “Lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape, protect taxpayers, and help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership,” Scott said.
His Democratic counterpart, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren—the top Democrat on the banking panel—called the bill historic. She said it is the most significant housing bill to pass Congress since 1990. when the average home in America was sold for $150. 000. Now, she said, it costs more than $500,000.
Warren told The Associated Press that the bill “acknowledges that the federal government has a role to play in lowering housing prices.” For the first time ever. she said. private equity would be blocked from buying up single-family homes and trying to turn housing into one more Wall Street investment.
Republicans and Democrats have embraced the bill as a rare arena where they can land something together—at a time when much of the Republican agenda has stalled. For voters, the pitch lands in a moment when the cost of staying housed, or becoming housed, is getting harder.
The bill’s push comes as the U.S. housing market has struggled since 2022, when mortgage rates began rising from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied homes have hovered near a 4-million annual pace going back to 2023—far below the 5.2-million annual pace that’s been the norm. Last year. sales slowed to a 30-year low. and they have remained sluggish so far this year. declining in January and February compared with a year earlier.
The administration’s own Economic Report of the President in April pointed to a shortage of 10 million homes. A report this month from the Joint Center For Housing Studies at Harvard University found sales of existing homes at three-decade lows and said inventories were rising due to high home buying costs. The report added that “Cost burdens for both renters and owners continue to climb, while assistance remains profoundly underfunded.”.
Even as the median U.S. monthly rent has declined for nearly three years, it was still 17.2% higher in May than it was before the pandemic, according to data from Realtor.com.
To change the supply equation, the bill would streamline environmental reviews and speed up the construction process. It would also offer funding to local governments that build more housing.
That includes Community Development Block Grant money for places exceeding the median rate of homebuilding. The legislation would provide new dollars for communities to turn abandoned infrastructure into housing. and it offers a framework for communities that want to reform outdated zoning regulations that often limit larger housing developments.
The bill also makes room for financial and policy shifts aimed at existing and manufactured housing. It would allow banks to invest more in affordable housing and raise limits on the number of public housing units that can receive private financing through Section 8 funding to rehabilitate properties. It would remove outdated requirements and expand federal financing to make manufactured homes more affordable.
Warren described manufactured housing as part of the solution. “Manufactured housing produces some of the most cost-effective housing in America. but access to financing has been tightly restricted. ” she said. “This creates the opportunity for more manufactured housing and. at the same time. creates a structure for people living in manufactured housing communities to organize and protect their investment in their homes.”.
One of the tougher battles between House and Senate lawmakers concerned a federal disaster recovery program. An earlier Senate bill had permanently authorized block grant recovery funds—intended to ensure that funding requests aren’t needed after every disaster. House lawmakers opposed that approach because of concerns about how the program was run, leading to a compromise.
The final agreement authorizes the program for three years.
Housing advocates from across the political spectrum signaled support for the finished product. including organizations representing landlords and large property owners as well as groups focused on tenants and low-income renters. David Dworkin. chief executive of the National Housing Conference—the nation’s oldest housing coalition—said there is no instant fix. “There is no magic wand that will fix this crisis overnight. and no single piece of legislation is perfect. ” he said.
“Compromise demands that. But this bill is a significant down payment on a long-term effort to make housing more affordable for all Americans.”
The human stakes are hard to miss as lawmakers move to the next vote. Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who helped negotiate the legislation, called it a “huge step toward finally addressing the affordable housing and homelessness crises in this country.”
Now, the bill’s momentum depends on whether the House will approve it quickly—before it reaches the president who has already indicated he will back the measure.
U.S. Senate housing bill Tim Scott Elizabeth Warren Maxine Waters private equity single-family homes zoning reform Section 8 Community Development Block Grant manufactured housing disaster recovery block grants affordable housing homelessness