US Senate Passes Bipartisan Bill to Lower Housing Costs

The US Senate, one of the two chambers of the US Congress, passed a bipartisan affordable housing bill on Monday. The measure is a new legislative proposal on housing to increase the availability of affordable single-family homes at a time when high consumer prices are voters' main worry ahead of the November midterm elections.

The bill now goes to the House for a final vote on the reconciled version. If passed, it will then go to President Trump's desk to be signed into law.

The idea of the significant housing bill arose due to the rising tensions over higher housing prices among Americans. There are varying estimates of the number of new homes needed, ranging from 1.5 million to 7.3 million.

The government wants to make it easier and faster for builders to construct homes. As more houses mean lower prices.

The housing bill would also aim to prevent the large Wall Street firm from controlling more than about 350 single-family homes by outbidding families when buying homes.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, said the bill would "lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape."

The bill creates programs to help younger people and first-time buyers get mortgages, especially for less expensive homes. It also speeds up permits and some government reviews so that housing projects can start sooner.

Experts say the bill may help make houses cheaper over the next few years, but it will not suddenly make homes cheap. As constructing new homes takes time, and mortgages are still high.

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U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, called it 'the biggest housing bill since 1990' — noting that the average home cost $150,000 then, compared to over $500,000 today.

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