Washington Examiner economics reporter Zach Halaschak said it would be a “big win” for both parties when President Donald Trump signs the bipartisan housing legislation into law, after the revised bill passed in the House.
The House passed the revised 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act 396-13 on Wednesday. Halashak said on LiveNow from Fox that the bill aims to “boost” housing supply.
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“If they could pass this in the Senate and get it to President Trump’s desk, it would be a big win for both parties, but also it would be important for Republicans in an election year who need to have some sort of legislative victory to take back to their constituents and point to,” Halashak said.
Halashak said the legislation would “boost” the housing supply because there would be more houses on the market, meaning lower prices for consumers.
Halashak explained that when it comes to housing affordability, it’s a “double-edged sword.”
“You have high mortgage rates making it harder to buy a house, and then you also have higher housing prices, like the actual physical price of the house is going up over time,” he said.
Halashak said the way to address this issue is by increasing the number of houses on the market.
The legislation aims to deregulate and build new houses, including provisions to make it easier to build modular homes.
Leading up to the vote, the White House endorsed the House’s latest version of the legislation. The revised bill clashed with the version that had already passed in the Senate.
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In an interview with the Washington Examiner ahead of the House vote, Trump expressed confidence that the housing legislation would reach his desk for his signature.
“I think they’re going to get together and come out with something,” Trump said.
