Op-Ed: Congress Took a Step Toward Making Housing More Affordable

July 10, 2026 -- Ask just about anyone who's tried to buy a home over the past few years and you'll hear a familiar story. The monthly payment was higher than expected. The bidding wars never seemed to end. Or the house they could have afforded a few years ago simply isn't within reach anymore.

President Trump has made restoring the American Dream a defining goal of his Administration, and he's right that bringing down interest rates would provide meaningful relief for aspiring homeowners. He's also been clear that election integrity and other priorities deserve Congress's attention. Those are worthy objectives. But housing affordability doesn't have to wait its turn. Millions of Americans are struggling to buy their first home today, and making homeownership attainable again should be part of the same broader effort to strengthen the economy and expand opportunity for working families.

This isn't just a problem in places like New York or California. Communities across the country are feeling the same pressure. Young families are waiting longer to buy their first home, and the median age of a first-time homebuyer has climbed to a record 40 years old. Employers are finding it harder to recruit workers because there isn't enough housing nearby. Local leaders, regardless of party, are confronting the same reality: demand continues to outpace supply.

There are plenty of ideas for how to respond. Some call for significant new federal spending. Others argue Washington should stay out of housing policy altogether. Neither approach fully reflects reality. Federal policy already shapes how housing gets financed, permitted, and built. The question isn't whether Washington has influence. It's whether those policies are helping or getting in the way.

For too long, too many of them have gotten in the way.

That's why Congress made the right decision in passing the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act. And tonight, at midnight, that work reaches an important milestone when the bill officially becomes law.

The bill isn't flashy, and it doesn't promise to solve the housing shortage overnight. No serious legislation could. America didn't become millions of homes short because of one bad decision, and we won't fix the problem with one good one.

What this legislation does is practical. It modernizes federal housing programs, improves access to financing, streamlines outdated requirements, and removes unnecessary red tape that drives up costs without improving outcomes. It won't replace the need for sound monetary policy or instantly reverse years of underbuilding. But it will make it easier to build more homes. Congress can support President Trump's broader economic agenda while also taking practical steps to increase housing supply. Those priorities reinforce one another rather than compete.

Conservatives have long believed that the private sector, not Washington, is best equipped to solve problems and drive economic growth. Housing should be no different. If we're serious about making homeownership more attainable, we have to make it easier to build more homes. That doesn't mean eliminating every regulation or ignoring local concerns. It means removing unnecessary barriers, cutting red tape, and modernizing outdated policies that drive up costs and slow construction.

Chairman of the Main Street Caucus Mike Flood has been one of Congress's leading voices making exactly that case. His work reflects an understanding that economic growth and housing affordability go hand in hand. Communities that can't build enough housing struggle to attract employers. Workers forced to live farther from their jobs face longer commutes and higher transportation costs. Businesses think twice before expanding where employees can't afford to live.

The Republican Main Street Partnership has always believed conservative principles are strongest when they're paired with practical results. Encouraging private investment, reducing unnecessary barriers to growth, and expanding opportunity are ideas that have defined conservative policymaking for decades. The 21st Century Road to Housing Act follows that same tradition.

Homeownership has never been guaranteed in America, nor should it be. But it has long been attainable for families willing to work, save, and invest in their future. That opportunity has become harder to reach, especially for younger Americans, and reversing that trend should be a national priority.

As the 21st Century Road to Housing Act becomes law tonight, the work doesn't end. Congress didn't solve the housing crisis with one bill. It did, however, take an important step in the right direction. Building enough homes to meet demand will require action at every level of government and a healthy private housing market. The 21st Century Road to Housing Act won't accomplish that by itself, but it moves the country closer to that goal. That's worth recognizing, and it's the kind of practical, market-oriented leadership Americans should expect more often.