US Senate advances bill to lower housing prices

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

March 11, 2026 6:07 AM EDT Updated 9 hours ago


WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress are lining up behind legislation to encourage more affordable housing, in ​a rare example of bipartisan action on a quality-of-life issue for voters.

The bill, which has drawn broad support from industry groups, ‌would overhaul regulations to make it faster and cheaper to build new housing. It would also modernize rules for factory-built housing and ban large investment groups from buying more single-family homes, a measure backed by President Donald Trump.

The Senate late on Wednesday voted 84-10 to back a compromise version of the measure and 82-11 to clear the way for a ​vote on passage, likely on Thursday. At a time when Republicans and Democrats are fighting bitterly over Trump's immigration crackdown and the war on Iran, lawmakers ​have rallied around the affordable-housing effort.

The latest version is spearheaded by Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Elizabeth ⁠Warren of Massachusetts. The House of Representatives passed its own version by a similar margin, and the two chambers will have to resolve their differences before ​Trump can sign it into law.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-lawmakers-advance-bill-lower-housing-prices-2026-03-11/

[WSHazel]

1. This bill will create a glut of houses

Every time the government gets involved in housing, it turns into a subsidy for home builders. The government has done this in the 80’s and 00’s, and it ended badly both times.

The government should normalize the tax advantages of owning a home between investors and residents. Since about 90% of taxpayers use the standard deduction, mortgage interest is effectively no longer tax deductible for most Americans. This gives investor owners a tax advantage, and subsidy, when buying a house, because interest is always tax deductible for investment.

Either make mortgage interest tax deductible for all or for none. That would even the playing field.