Congress recently passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with overwhelming bipartisan support, but the Georgia Public Policy Foundation reports that the legislation "likely won't change the homeownership equation for Americans." The analysis, published as part of the foundation's ongoing coverage of housing policy, examines why even high-profile federal action will do little to address the affordability crisis that's plagued households since the pandemic. The legislation became law without President Trump's signature, representing one of just 104 bills enacted by the 119th Congress since January 3, 2025.
According to the report, the current Congress is on track to pass the fewest bills since GovTrack began tracking in 1973, with the 118th Congress holding the current low point of just 274 bills enacted. The federal legislation restricts institutional investors who own more than 350 single-family homes from purchasing additional houses, a cap aimed at corporate landlords who've become primary targets in debates over rising housing costs. In Georgia specifically, state-level proposals to limit large institutional investors from owning thousands of single-family homes never passed, though those measures would have forced divestment to get under the cap. The bill also eliminates an expensive requirement to build manufactured housing on permanent steel frames, streamlines environmental reviews, and incentivizes cities to provide preapproved home designs.
Edward Pinto and Arthur Gailes of the American Enterprise Institute Housing Center wrote that while "many in Washington are hailing" the bill as "the most important federal housing bill in years," it targets obstacles to home building but falls short on actual impact. The report notes that the bill "does little to reform local land-use policy or lower mortgage rates," with the land-use provisions characterized "more as best-practice suggestions than as an actual path to producing the increase in housing supply needed to drive down costs." According to the analysis, the financing provisions "won't bring down interest rates at all, much less anywhere close to pre-pandemic levels," and the legislation didn't touch property taxes, which remain a function of local government.
The report explains that early predictions suggest large capital investors will simply shift from acquiring existing single-family homes toward constructing build-to-rent properties, which are exempt from the 350-home ownership threshold. While this would add to housing supply "in all forms," the foundation notes it "would do little or nothing to boost homeownership—the oft-stated goal of restrictions on institutional investors." The analysis points to unintended consequences in public policy crafting, where well-intentioned restrictions may actually redirect investment rather than solve the underlying problem. Neither land-use reform nor mortgage rate reductions fall within Congress's constitutional role, leaving the federal government with limited tools to address affordability at its roots.
For Georgians, the brighter news comes from state action: after years of attempts, the General Assembly capped annual increases on homestead assessments at no more than the rate of inflation earlier in 2026. The 2026 legislative session also tightened Georgia's existing 45-day timeframe for local governments to review building permit applications, a measure that will speed construction and reduce associated costs. The report concludes that the high-profile federal bill's "overall modest reforms serve as a reminder that much of the work needed to bring down housing costs remains at the local level."