Axios Live: New housing law fuels bipartisan momentum

WASHINGTON — The passage of landmark federal housing legislation is encouraging optimism for more collaborative reform, lawmakers and advocates said at an Axios Live event.

Why it matters: Homeownership costs are nearing historic levels, and addressing the national housing shortage is a rare bipartisan priority.

Axios' Courtenay Brown and Mimi Montgomery moderated conversations with Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) and National Multifamily Housing Council president Sharon Wilson Géno. The July 16 event was sponsored by Citi.

Stunning stat: Americans hoping to afford payments on a median-priced home need over 75% more income than they did in 2020, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Driving the news: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act automatically became law last week despite President Trump's refusal to sign it.

What they're saying: The bipartisan work to pass the legislation is a "beacon of hope," Pettersen said.

• "We'll know if it's working when people start to feel like [housing] is within reach again — that they're not spending 50% of their paycheck to put a roof over their head," she added.
• The bill's elimination of a 1974 requirement of a permanent steel chassis for manufactured homes could be "the biggest change," Wilson Géno said.
• One of the most important things the bill accomplishes is the "reduction of the regulatory barriers that go into construction," LaHood said, and the creative financing solutions that free up capital and investment funding.

Yes, but: "There are many pieces that are lacking ... especially that federal investment that we need to help increase the housing supply," Pettersen said.

The bottom line: Housing "affects every congressional district, every state," LaHood said. "No one is immune from it."

Content from the sponsor's segment:

In a View From the Top conversation, Citi head of enterprise services and public affairs Edward Skyler said difficult choices will need to be made for the greater good.

• "If we want to make some progress here, different jurisdictions are going to have to do things as far as expediting permitting, making sure the zoning makes sense and also making some of the hard decisions."