NAMB’s Saunders also discusses other critical issues they’re working with Congress to address
The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act cleared the House on Wednesday and now sits with the Senate. It still has work to do before it becomes law, but the mortgage industry has been waiting a long time for a serious push on housing supply.
The country is running roughly four million units short of what it needs. The bill targets that gap directly.
The Senate still has to sign off, and then it would need to be signed by President Donald Trump. A joint statement from Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott and ranking member Elizabeth Warren said there is "still work to be done" after the House stripped a provision requiring build-to-rent investors to divest properties to individual owners after seven years. Some senators had pushed hard for that requirement to stay in.
Valerie Saunders (pictured top), chief executive strategist at the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, said NAMB's reaction was optimistic.
"We are happy that it made it through the House," Saunders told Mortgage Professional America. "We are supportive of the bill. No bill is perfect, but we have a big push for affordability, so anything that is going to help modernize the process, make it easier or less cumbersome for people to get into homes and create greater access to credit, we're in favor of."
A priority before midterm elections
The House version kept the Senate's institutional investor cap but stripped that seven-year divestment requirement. That concession won the homebuilding industry's support, though some senators pushed back on the removal.
The bill also eliminates an outdated federal rule requiring factory-built homes to be constructed on a permanent chassis, in place since 1974, that adds cost and limits where manufactured homes can be placed. The Bipartisan Policy Center projects the change could cut production costs by $5,000 to $10,000 per unit.
Grant programs to pre-approve housing designs and incentives for local governments to ease zoning restrictions are also in the package.
Based on analysis of the Senate-passed bill text, most provisions would take effect upon enactment, with the institutional investor restrictions taking effect 180 days after signing. Some regulatory programs, including the FHA small-dollar mortgage pilot, give HUD up to a year to establish them. However, the House amended the bill before Wednesday's vote, and it is not yet confirmed whether all of those timelines carried over unchanged into the final House version.
On the Senate timeline, Saunders said the pressure from both sides to get something done before the midterms gives the bill a real chance.
"I think they're going to push it as much as they can to try to get it across the finish line," Saunders said. "I know that there is a big push from both sides. The House and the Senate are obviously aware they're going to have to compromise on certain things. And the bill was amended even earlier this week, before it was voted on. So I think that does show good faith on the House side."
More big deadlines coming
The housing bill is not the only thing on brokers' radar. Two other issues have shorter timelines and will land regardless of what the Senate does.
A significant FHFA change to condo financing takes effect August 1, requiring projects to move from a limited review to a full review. Most condos across the country are already struggling to meet the 10% reserve requirement that comes with full review status. Saunders said lenders typically begin adjusting 30 to 60 days ahead of effective dates, which puts the practical impact potentially as close as June.
Then there is UAD 3.6, the appraisal industry's data standards overhaul, which Saunders said places as much of a burden on brokers as it does on appraisers.
"We have to make sure that we understand the changes and what the cause and effect is," she said. "Now is a really big time for advocacy and really staying focused and paying attention."
NAMB is also working with Representative Derrick Van Orden's office on legislation that would benefit veterans in the mortgage market.
"I think it's more important than ever for brokers to really be connected with what's happening in Washington, DC," Saunders said. "Because you've got a huge example of something that's going to have a very significant impact on first-time homebuyers."
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