Author: abigail_grenadier

RER Backs Community Banking Reform to Expand Credit and Local Investment

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The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) submitted a letter of support this week for the Main Street Capital Access Act (H.R. 6955). RER praised the bill as a long-overdue step toward “common sense tailoring” of bank regulation in comments sent to House Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Andy Barr (R-KY). (Letter, Jan. 8)

Background

  • Introduced on Jan. 7, the Main Street Capital Access Act looks to ease regulations on small and mid-size banks and increase their access to capital.  
  • The measure bundles 29 bills that advanced through the full House Financial Services Committee last year, several of which received overwhelming bipartisan support.
  • Chairman Hill said, “Over the past year, the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions under Chair Barr’s leadership has worked tirelessly to examine outdated regulations, listen directly to small businesses, and confront barriers to access capital for small and mid-sized banks. I am proud to introduce the Main Street Capital Access Act with Chair Barr to reinvigorate our community banks and return commonsense back to Main Street.”
  • Chair Barr will be a featured speaker at RER’s State of the Industry Meeting next week.
  • The package includes legislation that promotes new bank formation, expands local community access, tailors bank regulation, fosters fair and transparent bank supervision, and supports competition, innovation, and responsible bank partnerships.

Roundtable Advocacy

  • RER’s letter emphasizes that community and regional banks are vital to the financing ecosystem for commercial and residential real estate, and therefore play a key role in addressing the nation’s housing shortage.
  • “The Main Street Capital Access Act will help revitalize communities across the nation by encouraging local bank formation and enhancing credit capacity,” wrote RER President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer. “By easing outdated regulatory burdens for community banks, it will help unlock more capital for housing and small businesses and permit Main Street community lenders to focus on serving families and local economies, making life more affordable for Americans.”
  • DeBoer also underscored the impact of the decline in new bank formation in recent years. “This lack of ‘de novo’ or ‘new’ bank activity, coupled with ‘banking deserts’ that are common in rural areas, has led to higher costs for households and less access to capital and investment for small and medium-sized businesses,” DeBoer added.

Why It Matters

  • Community banks serve as a primary capital source for local housing and commercial real estate projects, particularly in underserved markets where larger institutions may have little presence.
  • RER has consistently advocated for right-sized financial regulation that promotes liquidity in the CRE market while maintaining safety and soundness in the banking system. The Main Street Capital Access Act aligns with this principle by streamlining oversight and promoting innovation in the small-bank sector.

Next Steps

RER will continue to work with Congress and the administration to advance policy measures that encourage capital formation, enhance credit capacity, support housing production, and foster economic development in communities around the country.

Washington Ramps Up Housing Agenda as Real Estate Coalition Presses for Solutions that Expand Supply

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President Trump and lawmakers ramped up efforts to address housing affordability this week—floating executive actions, new financing tools, and legislative proposals aimed at lowering costs for homebuyers and renters. The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) and a broad real estate coalition are urging policymakers to stay focused on the underlying challenge: the nation’s chronic housing supply shortage.

State of Play

  • Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, President Trump previewed additional affordability proposals, saying, “In the coming weeks, I will be laying out even more plans to help bring back affordability.” (PoliticoPro, Jan. 14)
  • Last week, Trump said he would move to ban “large institutional investors” from purchasing single-family homes—without providing details on what legal steps the administration could take or how “large” would be defined. (Bloomberg, Jan. 8 | WSJ, Jan. 7)
  • Administration officials have indicated to Axios that more details on the administration’s housing policies will come from Trump’s speech at Davos this month. (Axios, Jan. 12)
  • Trump also instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities, an effort the administration says is intended to help reduce mortgage rates and monthly payments. (Politico | Bloomberg, Jan. 9)
  • The administration has floated the idea of “portable mortgages,” which would allow mortgage holders to sell their house and bring their low mortgage-rate along to their new home. (Axios, Jan. 14)
  • On Tuesday, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) unveiled a new “Making the American Dream Affordable Again” policy framework for a second reconciliation package, including housing-related concepts such as a proposed down payment assistance program and ideas tied to easing mortgage “lock-in.” (The Hill, Jan. 13)

Roundtable & Real Estate Coalition View

  • Large-scale SFR investments have helped revitalize distressed properties and communities, contributing to economic growth and stability.
  • RER has consistently emphasized that restricting investment is not a substitute for increasing supply—and that institutional capital can be part of the solution when it supports new housing development and expanded rental options.
  • In a Jan. 13 coalition statement, real estate organizations urged policymakers to prioritize supply-forward policies that expand construction and keep capital flowing to housing: “The only way to lower the cost of mortgages and rent is by encouraging, not hindering, investment… by building the housing our nation needs.” (Coalition Statement, Jan. 13)
  • RER has also highlighted research showing affordability pressures are driven primarily by supply shortages, construction costs, and mortgage rates—not institutional ownership levels. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 9)

Sen. Gallego’s Housing Affordability Plan

  • Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) released a housing affordability plan on Wednesday centered on boosting supply, reforming zoning and permitting, lowering costs, and strengthening resilience to extreme weather. (Politico| HousingWire,  Jan. 14)
  • RER President and CEO Jeffrey D. DeBoer welcomed elements of Gallego’s plan focused on increasing supply—such as ideas to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, encourage conversions of obsolete buildings into housing, and reward jurisdictions that streamline land use and zoning rules. (Press Release, Jan. 14)
  • DeBoer said RER looks forward to working with Sen. Gallego “to advance these important proposals in the most impactful way possible.”

Bipartisan Bill Incentivizes Transit-Oriented Housing

  • A bipartisan, bicameral group introduced the Build Housing, Unlock Benefits and Services (HUBS) Act to cut red tape and expand federal infrastructure loan tools to support transit-oriented development and boost housing supply. (One Pager;  Full Text)
  • Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and John Curtis (R-UT) are leading the bill in the Senate, alongside Reps. Laura Friedman (D-CA) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) in the House.
  • DeBoer said, “The Build HUBS Act is an important step to address the nation’s housing crisis. By expanding the Department of Transportation’s low-interest TIFIA/RRIF loan programs to finance housing in transit-oriented development projects, this bill will increase the supply of housing in America and bring more affordable housing options to communities across the country. We look forward to working with Congress to enact this legislation,” he added. (Press Release, Jan. 15)
  • Rep. Lawler will be a featured speaker at RER’s State of the Industry Meeting next week.

RER will continue working with policymakers and the administration to advance practical solutions that increase construction, support investment, and address the root causes driving today’s housing costs.

Coalition Statement on Making Housing More Affordable for Americans

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(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The United States is facing a housing affordability crisis driven by demand exceeding supply, causing a shortage of all types of housing—homes for sale, homes for rent, apartments, duplexes and others—that has been decades in the making. For too long, families and communities throughout the country have struggled with the high cost of housing.

The undersigned organizations appreciate the Trump Administration’s ongoing commitment to reducing housing costs and broadening housing opportunity by exploring solutions that will expand the number of homes available—the only real solution to housing affordability. While there is no single policy solution, we know it will require public and private partnerships collaborating with communities nationwide to build the housing America needs.

The cost of housing is one of the most critical issues facing many Americans. The only way to lower the cost of mortgages and rent is by encouraging, not hindering, investment and constructing the housing that individuals and families can build lives upon.

President Trump has made increasing housing supply and addressing today’s shortage a top priority, and rental housing providers are the very organizations to partner with to solve our housing affordability challenges.

As a coalition, we urge policymakers of both parties and at all levels of government to embrace solutions that will have the greatest positive impact on housing supply and make a meaningful difference in Americans’ lives by building the housing our nation needs.

We look forward to learning more about the Administration’s housing proposals and partnering with the Administration in developing a national housing policy that will ensure that generations of Americans have the freedom to choose from a wide range of affordable housing options.

Download Statement

Council for Affordable and Rural Housing

Institute of Real Estate Management

Manufactured Housing Institute

NAIOP, Commercial Real Estate Development Association

Nareit

National Association of Housing Cooperatives

National Affordable Housing Management Association

National Apartment Association

National Association of Home Builders

National Leased Housing Association

National Multifamily Housing Council

National Rental Home Council

The Real Estate Roundtable 

Trump Proposes Restricting Institutional Investment in Single-Family Housing

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President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would move to ban “large institutional investors” from purchasing single-family homes, framing the proposal as part of a broader push to improve housing affordability. (Washington Post | CNBC, Jan. 7)

State of Play

  • “I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. (Bloomberg, Jan. 8)
  • He indicated plans to discuss the issue at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this month. (WSJ, Jan. 7)
  • The White House did not specify what executive actions, if any, would be taken, nor how it would define “large institutional investors.”
  • As currently described, the proposal would apply only to future acquisitions and would not require existing owners to divest their single-family rental (SFR) portfolios. (GlobeSt., Jan. 8)
  • Codifying a ban would require clear statutory language passed by Congress and signed into law—raising complex questions around thresholds, exemptions, and enforcement.
  • Legal challenges would likely follow, including claims related to takings, equal protection, and interstate commerce. Absent congressional authorization, the executive branch lacks clear authority to impose such a restriction solely through regulation. (Propmodo, Jan. 8)
  • Former House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry said on Bloomberg on Thursday that housing affordability challenges are driven largely by state and local land-use and regulatory barriers, noting that institutional investors account for only a small share of the housing market. (Bloomberg, Jan. 8)
  • Also this week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he is directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds to address the national housing affordability crisis. Federal Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte said in an interview that Fannie and Freddie Mac will carry out the president’s directive by purchasing $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities from the public market. (Politico | Bloomberg, Jan. 9)

What the Data Shows

GAO Report
  • Research consistently finds that housing affordability pressures stem primarily from chronic supply shortages, high construction costs, and elevated mortgage rates—not institutional ownership levels.
  • According to SFR Analytics, the top 24 SFR owners control just over 520,000 homes—about 3.5% of rental homes and less than 1% of the total single-family housing stock—underscoring the limited market impact of large investors. (Bloomberg, Jan. 7)
  • Single-family rentals expanded after the Great Financial Crisis in 2008-2009 as investors helped absorb foreclosures, stabilize neighborhoods, and provide rental housing for households unable to buy.  (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Oct. 2025)
  • A 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that large institutional investment expanded rental-housing options, helped stabilize neighborhoods after the financial crisis, and improved access to quality communities for low- and middle-income households. (GAO Report Highlights | Full GAO Report) (Roundtable Weekly, June 2024)
  • The GAO study also found that large-scale SFR showed that many working families desire the space provided by single-family homes, but may have low credit scores and otherwise can’t afford to buy them. Renting is commonly their best option for moving into better neighborhoods and school districts.
  • Another study out of UNC Charlotte, released in May 2024, finds that children from low- and moderate-income households see improved achievements in school when they rent single-family homes in neighborhoods where they cannot afford to buy.  (UNC Study Highlights | Full UNC Report, 2024)
  • An August 2025 report from the American Enterprise Institute found that institutional investors are not a primary driver of housing unaffordability, noting that housing shortages stem largely from restrictive zoning, limited new construction, and inflationary pressures. (American Enterprise Institute Report, Aug. 2025)
  • Stephen Scherr, co-president of Pretium Partners, which owns Progress Residential (RER member) one of the nation’s largest SFR operators, said on CNBC today that institutional investors help expand housing supply by de-risking large developments through purchase commitments that enable projects to move forward. He added that many renters they serve are not mortgage-eligible and use renting as a pathway to eventual homeownership. (CNBC, Jan. 9)

Roundtable View

  • Expanding the supply of housing across the geographic and economic spectrum is essential for the nation’s economic vitality.
  • Large-scale SFR investments have helped revitalize distressed properties and communities, contributing to economic growth and stability.
  • The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) has consistently emphasized that restricting capital will not solve the affordability crisis, and that increasing housing supply is the most effective path forward.
  • RER President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer said: “Access to affordable housing is central to the American Dream, a dream that for some families means renting a home and for others means owning a home. For more than a decade, our nation’s supply of both owner-occupied and rental housing has, for a variety of reasons, not kept up with demand. This gap between supply and demand is the true cause of today’s housing crisis. The supply of housing must be increased.”
  • “This will require, among other actions, common sense policy reforms to local permitting and zoning regulations, recognizing in both national and local policy actions the reality of escalating labor and material costs and, importantly, the need to maintain and improve incentives to encourage the capital needed to develop, redevelop, and modernize the nation’s housing stock,” DeBoer said. “We work with all policymakers to advance initiatives that remove barriers to housing development, incentivize capital investment in housing, and help people achieve the American Dream.” 
  • In March 2025, RER and Nareit submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to the agency’s inquiry into the impact of large-scale SFR operators and institutional investors on home prices and rents. (Letter, March 2025)
  • The letter emphasized that institutional investors account for a small fraction of home purchases and play a limited, but constructive role in expanding supply, rather than driving affordability challenges. (Roundtable Weekly, March 2025)
  • This week, RER member Sean Dobson (Chairman, CEO & CIO, Amherst) said restricting investment would not improve affordability. “Banning investors from putting capital into the housing market is not going to make affordability any better,” Dobson said during an appearance on Wednesday on Bloomberg Markets. (Bloomberg, Jan. 7)

Without meaningful steps to expand housing supply, proposals to limit institutional participation are unlikely to address the root causes of affordability pressures facing renters and would-be homebuyers, reinforcing RER’s ongoing work with policymakers and the administration to promote policies that increase housing supply and improve affordability.

Congressional Spending Package Preserves ENERGY STAR Funding

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A bipartisan, three-bill “minibus” appropriations package advanced by the House on Thursday preserves funding for ENERGY STAR, ensuring continued support through the end of the federal fiscal year for the voluntary public-private partnership focused on energy efficiency in buildings and appliances. (PoliticoPro, Jan. 8)

State of Play

  • The House passed the minibus on a bipartisan 397–28 vote. The package now heads to the Senate, which is expected to take up the measure as early as next week. (The Hill, Jan. 8)
  • The bill funds the Departments of Energy, Commerce, Interior, and Justice, along with water programs, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and certain federal science initiatives through Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year.
  • The package reflects weeks of bicameral negotiations following last month’s deal on overall spending levels.
  • House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R- OK) defended the bills as the product of “bipartisan, bicameral consensus” and a member-driven process. (Politico, Jan. 9)
  • The final agreement largely rejected dramatic reductions sought by the White House last spring, opting instead for more targeted spending adjustments to energy and environmental programs. (PoliticoPro, Jan. 8)

Why It Matters

  • ENERGY STAR is a long-standing, market-based program that helps lower energy costs and supports “retrofit” investments for all commercial real estate asset classes.
  • The outcome builds on bipartisan actions last summer, when both House and Senate appropriators separately advanced bills supporting FY’26 ENERGY STAR funding. (Roundtable Weekly, July 25)
  • RER has long urged the “business case” to support the ENERGY STAR program. It is working with a coalition of multi-industry partners in the real estate, manufacturing, consumer tech, and retail sectors to explain to Congress and the administration why ENERGY STAR is critical to the national “energy dominance” agenda. (Roundtable Weekly, June 6; May 23).  

What’s Next

  • The minibus is expected to clear Congress before the current stopgap continuing resolution expires on Jan. 31.
  • Appropriators are preparing additional spending packages later this month, though several major funding bills—including Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, and Homeland Security have yet to be finalized.

These developments, alongside issues related to AI-driven power demand, grid reliability, and permitting reform, will be featured at RER’s upcoming Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) meeting on Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C.

OECD Carves Out U.S. Companies from Global Minimum Tax, Reducing Risk of Retaliatory Taxes on Foreign Real Estate Investors

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After months of negotiations, global tax talks produced an agreement at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that exempts U.S.-headquartered companies from Pillar Two’s global minimum tax and reduces the risk of retaliatory taxes that could have affected foreign investment in commercial real estate. (ABCNews, Jan. 6)

State of Play

  • Nearly 150 jurisdictions agreed to new Pillar Two guidance, including a long-sought “side-by-side” safe harbor that shields U.S. multinationals from key global minimum tax rules. U.S. companies will remain subject only to existing U.S. global minimum taxes. (Reuters, Jan. 6)
  • The Trump administration renegotiated the framework in June after congressional Republicans removed a proposed retaliatory tax—Section 899—from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3 Act).
  • The agreement formally recognizes U.S. tax sovereignty over the worldwide operations of American companies, while preserving other countries’ authority to tax business activity within their borders. (OECD Press Release, Jan. 5)
  • Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo and House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith praised the outcome but warned that Congress remains prepared to revive retaliatory tax measures if countries delay or fail to implement the agreement. (Sen. Crapo and Rep. Smith Press Release, Jan. 5)
  • They emphasized that Republicans rolled back those measures earlier this year only after the G7 publicly committed to respecting U.S. tax sovereignty—and said that warning “remains today” as implementation begins.
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the agreement “a historic victory” that protects American workers and businesses from extraterritorial taxation. (Press Release, Jan. 5)

Why It Matters

  • During negotiations for the OB3 Act, RER and other industry groups warned that Section 899 would deter foreign investment, weaken capital formation, increase borrowing costs, and dampen property values. (Roundtable Weekly, Sept. 12)
  • Section 899 would have generated significant uncertainty for foreign real estate investors, with applicable tax rates potentially shifting year to year or across administrations.
  • The provision would have extended to a wide range of passive investors—including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, high-net-worth individuals, and insurance companies—with the economic burden often falling on U.S. borrowers under typical loan covenants that shift tax-law risk to domestic parties.

RER’s Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) will review implications for U.S. real estate investment and global capital flows at the State of the Industry Meeting on Jan. 22, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

RER Statement on Restricting Institutional Investment in Single-Family Housing

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Statement by Real Estate Roundtable (RER) President and CEO Jeffrey D. DeBoer

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — “Access to affordable housing is central to the American Dream, a dream that for some families means renting a home and for others means owning a home.

For more than a decade, our nation’s supply of both owner-occupied and rental housing has, for a variety of reasons, not kept up with demand.

This gap between supply and demand is the true cause of today’s housing crisis.

The supply of housing must be increased.

This will require, among other actions, common sense policy reforms to local permitting and zoning regulations, recognizing in both national and local policy actions the reality of escalating labor and material costs and, importantly, the need to maintain and improve incentives to encourage the capital needed to develop, redevelop, and modernize the nation’s housing stock.

We work with all policymakers to advance initiatives that remove barriers to housing development, incentivize capital investment in housing, and help people achieve the American Dream.”

Roundtable Urges Second Circuit Court of Appeals to Preserve Employment Tax Exemption for Limited Partners

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The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) filed an amicus brief this week with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Soroban Capital Partners LP v. Commissioner, a case that challenges the IRS’s restrictive interpretation of the “limited partner exception” from self-employment (SECA) taxes under section 1402(a)(13) of the tax code. (Amicus Brief, Dec. 15)

Why It Matters

  • Income-producing real estate—rental housing, neighborhood shopping centers, office buildings, etc.—is predominantly owned and operated in partnership form. In 2022, there were over 2.2 million real estate partnerships in the United States, with nearly 9.6 million partners.
  • The Self-Employment Contributions Act (SECA) imposes Social Security and Medicare taxes on net earnings from self-employment. The SECA tax rate on earnings above $250,000 is 3.8%. While the tax applies to a broad range of trade or business income, Congress expressly exempted limited partners from SECA in the Social Security Amendments of 1977.
  • Legislative proposals and proposed regulations have unsuccessfully attempted to extend the 3.8% SECA tax or the 3.8% net investment income tax to limited partners.
  • The IRS has undertaken an aggressive effort to redefine what it means to be a limited partner by challenging taxpayers and litigating the issue in several cases before the Tax Court.

Roundtable View

  • Real estate partnerships have relied for decades on longstanding tax law as it relates to limited partners and the SECA exception.
  • In Soroban and related cases, the Tax Court has imposed a judge-made test and concluded contrary to decades of established state law that a limited partner must be a ‘passive investor,’ notes the RER amicus brief.
  • The Tax Court’s 2023 Soroban ruling wrongly introduced a federal “passivity” requirement that is unmoored from statute, legislative history, and Treasury’s own prior interpretations. However, limited partners have routinely provided business services to their partnerships without losing their limited liability status. (Roundtable Weekly, Sept. 12)
  • “A shift in the federal tax definition of a limited partner could alter underlying partnership economics, increase tax burdens, and create significant uncertainty for real estate and other pass-through businesses,” said RER President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer. “Such changes need to go through Congress and withstand legislative scrutiny.”

Background

  • RER’s amicus brief was drafted by litigation counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, in consultation with RER’s Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC). RER also filed an amicus brief in August
    with the First Circuit Court of Appeals in a related case, Denham Capital Management LP v. Commissioner. (Roundtable Weekly, Sept. 12)

Next Steps

The decision in any of the pending cases could have nationwide implications for how partnerships are treated under SECA. A ruling against the Tax Court’s passive investor test would reinforce state law’s central role in defining “limited partner” status.

Roundtable Urges IRS to Issue Transition Guidance for Opportunity Zones

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The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) submitted a comment letter this week, urging the Treasury Department and IRS to issue expedited guidance to ensure Opportunity Zone (OZ) investment continues uninterrupted in 2026 as the program transitions from Opportunity Zones 1.0 to the permanent Opportunity Zones 2.0 framework enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) Act. (Letter, Dec. 19)

Roundtable Advocacy

  • In a letter to IRS Chief Counsel (Acting) Kenneth Kies, RER called on the agency to issue a Revenue Procedure confirming that investments in existing Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) qualified opportunity funds (“QOFs”) and qualified opportunity zone businesses (“QOZBs”) will continue to qualify for OZ benefits after zone designations lapse, provided the investments are consistent with the QOZB’s working capital plan.
  • RER warned that, absent clear transition rules, investors in 2026 will face uncertainty over whether to proceed with TCJA OZ projects or wait for new zone designations expected to take effect in 2027—risking a slowdown in capital deployment to distressed communities.
  • The OB3 Act made OZs permanent and expanded key incentives, but also raised questions about compliance testing, QOF asset requirements, and treatment of projects that span the transition period between expiring and newly designated zones.

Why It Matters

IRS building in Washington, DC
  • RER emphasized that OZs have mobilized more than $120 billion in private capital nationwide, supporting affordable and workforce housing, retail, mixed-use developments, and small-business growth in low-income communities.
  • Without timely IRS action, uncertainty could delay projects already underway, disrupt financing, and undermine the long-term policy goals Congress reinforced by making the program permanent.
  • RER urged the IRS to adopt a clear “safe harbor” allowing certain TCJA OZ projects to be treated as “grandfathered” for compliance purposes if their working capital plans contemplated development before zone designations expired and investments remain consistent with those plans.

Prompt administrative guidance is essential to prevent a policy gap in 2026 and keep capital, jobs, and housing investment flowing to the communities OZs were designed to serve. OZs will be discussed at the next in-person TPAC meeting at RER’s State of the Industry Meeting scheduled for Jan. 21-22, 2026.

House Committee Advances Roundtable-backed Housing Package and Flood Insurance Bill

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This week, the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) advanced 20 bills during a two-day markup session—including the bipartisan Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644), which contains numerous reforms championed by The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) and a coalition of national real estate and housing organizations. (Letter, Dec. 15)

Comment Letter Highlights

  • Ahead of the two-day markup session, RER and a coalition of 11 other housing, finance, and real estate groups sent a letter to HFSC Chair French Hill (R-AR), Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), and housing subcommittee leaders expressing support for the Housing for the 21st Century Act and the committee’s broader efforts to expand affordable housing. (Letter, Dec. 15)
  • The coalition commended the committee’s bipartisan approach and highlighted H.R. 6644 as a “meaningful step toward addressing one of the most urgent challenges facing our nation: expanding housing supply for both renters and homeowners and improving affordability for working families.”
  • The letter focused on key provisions of the HFSC’s bill, such as modernizing and streamlining federal housing programs, removing unnecessary federal requirements, expanding financing pathways, promoting manufactured housing as cost-effective solutions, and more.
  • The coalition also warned that housing affordability is driven by sustained underproduction, rising construction costs, regulatory delays, and outdated standards, and emphasized that no single policy change can address these pressures alone.

Housing for the 21st Century Act Advances

  • Co-sponsored by Chair Hill and Ranking Member Waters, the Housing for the 21st Century Act received near-unanimous support this week—with the Committee voting 50-1 for its passage.
  • The Housing for the 21st Century Act incorporates some elements of the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act, which was approved by the Senate in October before stalling after House Republicans signaled they wanted more scope to advance their own housing legislation. (Roundtable Weekly, Dec. 12)
  • A key feature of the House’s bill is an update to the HOME Investment Partnerships Program aimed at reducing red tape and expanding eligibility.
  • The bill also streamlines environmental review rules and enhances oversight of housing providers, among a range of other reforms.  
  • Chair Hill called the bill “historic” and said that it will “get to the root of the housing affordability challenges our country has experienced for the last several years.” (Chair Hill Press Release, Dec. 17)
  • The measure is now expected to go to a House floor vote in early 2026. (Housing Wire, Dec. 17) 

NFIP Reauthorization Advances

  • Additionally, the HFSC advanced the NFIP Extension Act of 2026 (H.R. 5577) to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program through Sept. 30, 2026.
  • While lawmakers emphasized the need for long-term reform, there was broad consensus that avoiding a lapse is essential ahead of the program’s Jan. 19 expiration.
  • RER has consistently supported long-term NFIP authorization and program reform.

RER will continue to engage with policymakers in support of legislation that increases housing supply and ensures that property owners can access the insurance protection that they need from increasingly costly natural disasters.