Two Proposed Bills Could Profoundly Impact U.S. Housing Markets - GreenBuildingAdvisor

Policy Watch Two Proposed Bills Could Profoundly Impact U.S. Housing Markets A Senate-approved bipartisan housing bill and a proposal to make homebuilding materials tariff-exempt are making the rounds. By Justin R. Wolf | March 24, 2026 Image credit: Randy Williams More Policy Watch The Environmental Impacts of Trump 2.0’s First Year in Office The Cons and Pros of Introducing 50-Year Mortgages Normalizing Hemp and Straw Up North ADUs and Mortgages The question of how to solve America’s housing crisis has long befuddled market experts and armchair economists alike, including yours truly. (I’m in the latter category.) Housing deficits vary from state to state, but the most acute crises are in places that meet at least two of the following criteria: rapid population growth, restrictive zoning or other regulatory hurdles, high labor costs, labor shortages, and good old-fashioned NIMBYism. The most recent data from the AEI Housing Center indicates the worst deficits are in Hawaii, California, New York, District of Columbia, and Washington. When you factor in populations, the numerical shortages are startling, with almost 2.2 million housing units needed in California, over 950,000 in New York, and over 490,000 in Florida.For GBA’s American readership, ours is a nation that cannot adequately house its own people. Whether you attribute this to the social safety net or lack thereof, burdensome permitting processes to approve housing starts, or something else, however we disagree o...