There are signs of progress in the fight for affordable housing. After months of debate, the House passed a new version of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, a sweeping bipartisan housing package supporters say could help tackle the nation’s housing affordability crisis. Supporters call i t some of the most comprehensive housing legislation Congress has considered in decades. The bill encourages zoning reform, expands funding for rehabilitating homes and incentivizes developers to build housing for low- to middle-income buyers. “Anytime there’s new legislation like this, it’s going to take a while for the development of new housing to catch up, because we’ve underbuilt homes for so long. I think we do live in a state that is looking at solving the housing crisis at the local, state level as well. So now that we have the federal government coming alongside us, hopefully we’ll see new housing get built in places that’s more convenient for families, young professionals looking to buy their first homes and even seniors who want to downsize but still own a home,” said Bryan Tony, Executive Director of the Dallas Housing Coalition. A major point of contention during negotiations centered on rules for large institutional investors. The new House version removes a mandate that would have forced build-to-rent developers to sell off rental homes within seven years. The legislation still must clear the Senate before becoming law, but some local companies say the ongoing debate is already slowing projects and impacting jobs. ...read more read less