Supply, rent, and homeownership
Why housing costs what it does and what governments can do about it: zoning and permitting, mortgage rates and lending, rental assistance, homelessness, and public housing. Local land-use rules and federal finance both shape the market.
Congress.gov policy areas that map here: Housing and Community Development. Browse all current bills in “Housing and Community Development” on Congress.gov →
Issue
Housing
Supply, rent, and homeownership
Why it connects to…
School funding tied to local property taxes means housing patterns shape school resources and segregation.
Where and how homes are built decides exposure to floods and fires, and the cost of insuring them.
Mortgage rates, construction costs and rent are both drivers of inflation and products of it.
Immigration policy shapes both housing demand and the construction workforce that builds supply; the two are argued together from every side.
Homelessness policy sits at the intersection of housing supply and behavioral-health care.
Zoning near transit and highway spending decide where housing can be built and what commuting costs.
Where and how homes are built decides exposure to floods and fires, and the cost of insuring them.
Mortgage rates, construction costs and rent are both drivers of inflation and products of it.
School funding tied to local property taxes means housing patterns shape school resources and segregation.
Immigration policy shapes both housing demand and the construction workforce that builds supply; the two are argued together from every side.
Homelessness policy sits at the intersection of housing supply and behavioral-health care.
Transportation & Infrastructure
Zoning near transit and highway spending decide where housing can be built and what commuting costs.