Colorado Lets Nonprofits, Universities, and More Bypass Zoning

Last week, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the HOME Act into law, requiring most municipalities to allow housing development nonprofits, transit agencies, school districts, public housing authorities, and universities to build housing on their land.

What’s allowed: Starting in 2028, the aforementioned organizations can build housing on their property regardless of municipal zoning restrictions. Residential structures can be up to three stories or 45 feet in height by right, and municipalities cannot limit the number of units in a given development.

Room for improvement: Notably, religious institutions were not included in the list of qualifying organizations. Legalizing faith-based housing by right would give places of worship the ability to provide living spaces for vulnerable community members, unlocking a massive amount of affordable housing across …

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Michigan Blows Past Housing Goal

In June 2022, Governor Whitmer announced a plan to build or rehabilitate 75,000 housing units statewide by 2027. As of October 2025, Michigan has issued over 86,000 building permits, surpassing that goal two years early.

Picking up steam: Recent years have racked up the highest permit totals, with 22,427 units approved in 2025. The raw numbers are even bigger: Michigan has applied a downward adjuster of 5% to its unit approval count, to reflect that on average, 5% of permits do not result in finished units. Whitmer has now increased the state’s housing goal to 115,000 units by 2027.

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Pew Study: More Housing Lowers Rents

A new report from Pew Research shows that zoning reforms and subsequent housing supply increases improve housing affordability for everyone.

The evidence: Pew’s study tracked Austin rents before and after major zoning reforms, and showed that rents dropped as the housing supply rose. From 2021 to 2025, Austin’s median rent fell by 4%, and inflation-adjusted rents declined by 19%, even as the city’s population grew by nearly 10%.

Low-income improvement: Rent declined the most in older, lower-cost, apartment buildings, which typically serve lower-income renters. This demonstrates that increased housing production improves affordability for the most vulnerable tenants.

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Senate Advances Housing Act, Concerns Remain

On Thursday, the Senate passed the anticipated ROAD to Housing Act, which contains several pro-housing policies. But a provision spearheaded by Senator Warren and pushed by President Trump places burdensome restrictions on investors constructing or owning build-to-rent housing. Concerns remain as to whether this provision outweighs the other, positive elements of the bill.

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Science Says: Building Luxury Housing Lowers Prices for All

A new study focused on a condo tower in Honolulu has shown that the construction of new luxury and market-rate housing lowers the cost of housing in the broader market.

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Illinois Governor Proposes Massive Upzoning Statewide

On Wednesday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker proposed a zoning package that would increase housing supply across the state.

Pritzker’s plan: The Building Up Illinois Developments (BUILD) plan would legalize several missing middle housing types (duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, cottage courts, and townhomes) on lots over 5,000 sq ft in cities of 25,000 people or more. It would also legalize ADUs statewide.

Tackling the shortage: Illinois has a housing shortage of more than 142,000 units. The BUILD plan would legalize missing middle housing in 87 cities, containing more than half of Illinois’ population. If passed with sufficient safeguards against local obstruction, Pritzker’s plan would significantly increase the housing supply statewide.

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Commercial Housing Bill Headed to Virginia Governor’s Desk

North Carolina’s neighbor turned up the heat last week, sending a major housing bill to Gov. Spanberger’s desk.

Policy progress: The “Housing for Jobs” bills that cleared Virginia’s legislature would allow by-right multifamily development along commercial corridors throughout the state. Any commercial zoning that allows single-family homes would now have to permit multifamily housing, with few exceptions.

Heated rivalry: The North Carolina General Assembly considered similar legislation last year, but it stalled in committee. Will our state leaders let Virginia beat us at our own pro-housing game? Your move, NCGA.

Closer to Home:

Leigh Village Approved Despite Traffic Pushback

Durham City Council voted 5–2 to approve the Leigh Village Center rezoning along Route 54 near I-40. The 81-acre site sits inside the Urban Growth Boundary, is designated a Transit Opportunity Area in the Comprehensive Plan, and was once part of Durham’s Light Rail plans. The rezoning allows phased mixed-use development over the next decade or two, with expanded affordability provisions and land dedicated for a future public park.

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House Passes Housing for the 21st Century Act

On Feb 9th, the House passed the Housing for the 21st Century Act by a vote of 390-9.

What’s next: The bill will have to be reconciled with its Senate counterpart, the ROAD to Housing Act, then passed by both chambers again before it heads to the president’s desk.

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YIMBYs Win Housing Victories Across the Country

Laura Foote, executive director of YIMBY Action, reported on seven pro-housing victories you might have missed; from parking reform in Colorado and Illinois to city council elections in Asheville, Seattle, and Tuscon. Read Laura’s post here.

YIMBY momentum: Pro-housing policies have been on a steady climb across the United States for years. One of the biggest victories of 2025 was California’s SB 79, which mandates the upzoning of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other urban areas around public transit stops.

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Gallego Takes Housing Fight Mainstream

On Jan 14th, Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona released a plan to lower housing costs, taking direct aim at local and state zoning laws throughout the nation that constrict housing supply.

Previous Attempt: In 2025, several Senators introduced the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act, which would tie $3.5 billion in HUD grants to housing production outcomes and exempt infill from NEPA review, plus a bunch of other great stuff. The bill will likely be voted on this year, along with its sister bill in the House, which we covered last week.

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Pro-Housing Bill Passes House Committee

On Dec 17th, 2025, the Housing for the 21st Century Act passed the House Financial Services Committee 50-1.

Déjà Vu: A similar bill, the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 passed out of Senate committee in December. The ROAD Act would have tied $3.5 billion in HUD grants to housing production outcomes (with cities and towns that allowed more housing getting more funds) and exempted infill developments from NEPA review, along with a bunch of other great stuff.

A New Chance: The Housing for the 21st Century Act contains many of the same provisions as the ROAD Act (see a detailed comparison here). Both bills will likely be voted on this year.

Significance: The passage of these bills would constitute the most significant new federal housing policy in decades. Such a development underscores how salient housing affordability has become. Stay tuned for updates!

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Trump Floats Ban on Private Equity Homeownership

On Wednesday, Jan 7th, President Trump called upon Congress to ban private equity firms and Wall St. investors from buying more single-family homes.

The Purpose: President Trump claims that a ban would lower housing prices for Americans, as he tries to increase GOP messaging on affordability ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The Kicker: Institutional investors like Blackstone, Cerberus, and Invitation Homes own at most ~800,000 of the 88,000,000 detached single-family homes in America (that’s less than 1%).1 According to data from Cotality,2 investors that own more than 100 single-family units (“large” and “mega” investors on the graph) make up less than 5% of all single-family home purchases, and have for years.

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