US housing law takes effect with investor limits, factory-home push
Why it matters: The law aims to ease a roughly 4 million-home shortage, but experts say lower costs may take years to reach buyers.
A bipartisan housing package became US law on Saturday after President Donald Trump neither signed nor vetoed it within the required timeframe. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act seeks to expand housing supply by cutting regulatory barriers, widening financing access and curbing some purchases by large institutional investors. Among its biggest changes, the law bars investors that own at least 350 single-family homes from buying more, with exceptions for some build-to-rent and renovate-to-rent projects. It also broadens the federal definition of manufactured homes, removing an older chassis requirement and backing modular housing. The measure arrives as affordability remains strained, with the median existing-home price at $440,600 in June and 30-year mortgage rates above 6.5%.