Jul 3, 2026
President Donald Trump’s critics say he’s taking sides in the same argument over U.S. housing policy, and the conflict is heating up. In a Monday White House event, Trump responded to a reporter’s query on whether he’s decided to sign the recently sidelined housing affordability bill (officially known as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644)), which, as of June 30, remains unsigned.
“It’s so unimportant compared to the SAVE America Act,” Trump responded. “When I look at the bill, it’s a bill,” Mr. Trump said of the housing legislation during an Oval Office event. “When I look at the Save America Act, it’s about saving America.”
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In the same sequence, Trump referred to the Housing Act as “a big yawn . . . To me, compared to the Save America Act, just about everything is a big yawn.”
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Yet in January 2026, at a Cabinet meeting, Trump noted while discussing housing prices, “We’re going to keep tose prices up. We’re not going to destroy the value of their homes so that somebody that didn’t work very hard can buy a home.”
After a heated debate in Congress, the U.S. Senate and the House greenlit the new housing bill on June 22, 2026, when the Senate passed it 85-5. The next day, the House passed the bill 358-32.
“This is a very rare occurrence to have successive bipartisan votes across both chambers on versions of this bill, and it finally seems to be reaching the finish line,” Francis Torres, housing and infrastructure director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told TIME ahead of the bill’s house passage, said in a statement. “This bill is the most serious that Congress has gotten about housing reforms in a generation.”
With the housing bill stalled, homebuyers are sidelined, too
While the Trump comments dominate the headlines, the most pressing concern regarding the current House bill is the passage of time.
“First-time home buyers really cannot afford to lose the bill,” John Donikian, vice president at Best Interest Financial, told Moneywise. “Home prices and rents will continue to increase, and the burden of saving for a down payment will continue to grow, giving them an ever-shrinking window of opportunity. Younger families buy homes later and become, in effect, a responsible but unnecessary tenant.”
Other real estate experts say the housing bill may not do nearly enough to alleviate what many describe as a massive problem, pitting many older homeowners with low-interest-rate homes against younger buyers who can’t crack the homebuying market.
“While policymakers debate this housing affordability bill, the reality for the three million renters we represent is that legislative solutions on the supply-side take years to move the needle,” Ryan Metcalf, vice president of research at Flex, a fintech rental services app platform, told Moneywise.
Both the Senate and House versions of this bill will only be a drop in the bucket for a rental crisis of this scale, Metcalf warned. “Renters can’t afford to wait, which is why fintech platforms and non-profits are still a valuable stopgap to help renters manage their immediate demand-side challenges,” he noted.
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Three things to know about the housing bill
While the bill has myriad components, chief among them are easing environmental reviews that would clear the way for more domestic housing construction, unlocking more manufactured home availability, and more so-called small-dollar mortgages, which help home buyers land lower-cost homes.
Ultimately, however, the goal of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act should be to create a more reasonable environment for competition in the housing market. “That means affordable financing and increased supply through the removal of barriers to constructing homes and the crowding out of families by limiting the investment market,” Donikian said.
Beyond that, homebuyers and sellers may want to mull over these housing bill takeaways.
Uncle Sam is taking a stance against big corporate buyers — to a point
The restrictions on institutional investors in the 21st Century Road to Housing Act may curb some competition in markets where cash investors bid against first-time buyers for entry-level homes.
“However, the lack of a solution to the affordability crisis means this will only have a marginal impact on the market,” Donikian noted.
Homebuyers can expect some help with more modest mortgages
The provisions for small-dollar mortgages are vital and can have a drastic positive impact on buyers in urban areas.
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“In many of the affordable communities of Metro Detroit, a buyer may require a sub $100,000 mortgage,” Donikian noted. “However, these loans are more challenging to issue, as the base cost of lending does not significantly change with the value of the loan.”
Lower mortgage rates would certainly help address the affordability issues, but they would not solve the problem.
“Even with a more favorable rate, a borrower will still have an incentive to purchase a home,” Donikian added. “Buyers will still be pursuing a limited number of homes with high competition and high prices.”
What the market really needs is the improved financing and increased housing supply. “A great deal of emphasis should be placed on starter homes, manufactured homes, and low-cost housing that needs to be rehabilitated,” Donikian said.
Consumers shouldn’t expect a big housing market overhaul
While the bill’s limits on large investors are meaningful, consumers should understand they won’t reset prices on their own.
“What matters just as much is the other half of the bill, getting more attainable homes built, because builders have pulled back on the starter and mid-level inventory that would take the pressure off,” Jason Madiedo, CEO and Co-Founder of SimplyPMG, a national mortgage bank, told Moneywise. “The ROAD Act won’t undo what’s already happened, but if it’s signed, it can reshape future market cycles by reining in that investor activity and adding supply.”
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A former Wall Street bond trader, Brian O'Connell is the author of two best-selling books: “The 401k Millionaire” and “CNBC’s Creating Wealth.” His work is featured on national finance and business platforms like TheStreet.com, CBS News, CNN, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes.
