The editorial board of the Wall Street Journal has called on Senate Republicans to reject the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, stating its passage would mark a “big win for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the political left.”
In an editorial titled “Elizabeth Warren’s Housing Coup,” the Journal complained that the “pork-filled bill hitting the Senate floor this week” was “a melange of some 40 bills” that created new grant and loan programs, expanded federal power over local zoning, and instructed the Department of Housing and Urban Development Department to establish housing “best practices” for local governments.
The Journal was particularly irritated over the bill’s ban on large investors purchasing single-family homes and turning them into rentals, which President Trump has advocated. The editorial opined, “President Trump thinks the investor ban polls well and likes to say ‘people live in homes, not corporations.’ But who does he think lives in rental homes—hedge fund managers? Most tenants are lower-income. The Senate bill could force many of them out of their homes.”
The Journal further complained the problems facing the housing market were not caused by institutional investors.
“The real leading culprit is the Federal Reserve’s pandemic-era monetary policy,” the editors stated. “Historically low mortgage rates followed by inflation fueled price appreciation and resulted in a lock-in effect for owners that is constricting the supply of homes for sale. Large investment firms mopped up foreclosed homes after the 2008 housing crash, placing a floor on prices. They account for less than 1% of the single-family housing stock, and the number of rental homes has declined on net by 900,000 since 2017. They manage fewer homes in pricy markets like Los Angeles (0.3%), Boston (0.02%) and Washington, D.C. (0.07%).”
The editorial concluded that the eagerness by the White House and Capitol Hill Republicans to claim a legislative victory on housing policy will backfire.
“But why do Republicans want to provide a down payment for Ms. Warren and fellow progressives to expand Washington control over housing in their states?” the Journal asked.
Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons
Gee, an article by the Journal supporting Big Money Enterprises. What a surprise.
Don’t miss the major slippery slope of expanded federal power over local zoning, & the Department of Housing & Urban Development establishing housing “best practices” for local governments.
The Journal supporting Big Money Enterprises is a surprise, but if their case is strong for institutional investors it should be considered.
I think I smell clickbait…Warren is a corrupt Washington monster who has gotten rich at the expense of America and the WSJ is a left wing rag promoting the left wing billionaires…this is like two teammates fighting…the left has been subsidizing the construction of apartments to house illegal Democrats by the tens of millions and the government allowed the 2008 crash to happen. Government is the problem.
Thus far everyone, from Mondami to Trump, are ignoring the core issue. There are always two sides to the cost of goods, including housing. Supply and Demand. In most states the largest landowners are the government, hogging much-needed dirt for housing to protect whatever is their favorite cause. In California that approaches 50%.
Then local leaders decide that commercial is more important than residential because commercial adds to tax revenue while residential is an expensive end user of services. Pile on top of that the NIMBYs (Not In My Backyard) and their planning department cohorts who want to protect the architectural and social strata using an approval peephole that an ant can’t crawl through. Big setbacks, minimum density, bigger homes only the 1% can afford, and there you have it. The perfect storm.
Throw on top of that the nearly 40% increase in material and labor costs over the past four years and affordability becomes a dream, not reality. When governments start giving away their precious land for affordable homes you will know they are truly serious. Till then, don’t hold your breath.
the writer sounds like they have an agenda and it’s not to info but tell their opinion.