NAR Highlights Next Steps for 21st Century Road to Housing Act

The 21^st Century Road to Housing Act has more than 50+ provisions across federal agencies, with HUD responsible for most of them, according to Elayne Weiss, senior policy advisor at the National Association of Realtors®. “Now it’s about implementation,” she said. Weiss recently spoke to PAR members during the Fall Business Meetings.

“This is a once-in-a-generation type of bill, and we’re excited to see that this bill passed in July,” she said. “Some of these core ideas have been developed over the years. It’s an example that ideas don’t die; effort and persistence really paid off.”

The bill has a comprehensive approach to increasing housing supply and improving affordability by:

• Cutting government red tape
• Creating new tools and resources for communities
• Improving federal programs and financing
• Encouraging housing innovation
• Expanding homeownership access
• Supporting veterans.

“The bill will help local communities with new construction and make the federal government a better partner to help address barriers in homeownership,” Weiss said.

To create more federal support for new housing, the law allows communities to use a portion of Community Development Block Grant funds to build affordable housing, while a new pilot program supports converting vacant or abandoned commercial and industrial properties into homes. And it increases FHA multifamily loan limits to better reflect construction costs and gives certain projects in Opportunity Zones additional consideration for HUD grants.

In addition, the law streamlines federal environmental reviews for certain federally supported housing activities, potentially reducing delays and costs.

The law addresses manufactured and modular housing, helping to improve financing for manufactured homes and home improvements. It also suggests HUD address barriers in FHA construction financing to provide more financing options.

Weiss said agencies must act on the law through rulemaking, guidance, notices and program design before benefits reach communities. “Nearly half of all actions are due within the first year, making early action a priority,” she added. “And all new grant programs need future appropriations to launch; the law itself is budget neutral.”

NAR predicts HUD and other agencies will first implement the low- or no-cost changes. HUD has indicated that it is prioritizing manufactured housing provisions and CDBG-DR, both of which require rulemaking.

NAR believes the next changes to be addressed will require notice-and-comment rulemaking. And the last are the new competitive programs, which can’t be launched until they are funded.

Weiss suggests Realtors® can make a difference by:

• Weighing in during rulemaking
• Engaging in guidance and program design
• Getting involved in the housing frameworks task force
• Encouraging federal lawmakers to fund new programs
• Urging staffing for agencies like HUD and USDA
• Starting locally to assess what their community needs to access new federal funding

Weiss’ PowerPoint is available online.

NAR has additional resources about the 21^st Century Road to Housing Act. In addition, the National League of Cities, in partnership with the American Planning Association, has released the Housing Supply Accelerator Playbook.