Congress has reshaped homeownership for 250 years. Is it about to do it again?

Do lawmakers deserve some credit for helping you to become a homeowner—or the blame for keeping you locked out of the housing market? Congressional lawmakers may wield more power in the housing market than meets the eye, as a new report released Tuesday by Realtor.com finds that five landmark federal laws drove the most significant surges in the U.S. homeownership rate over the past 160 years. But it’s been decades since Congress acted in such a meaningful way—and the current housing market, with a supply gap of some 4 million homes, now awaits its moment to benefit from federal legislation. “Homeownership has never been purely a product of markets,” Joel Berner, senior economist at the Austin-based real estate site, said in a statement. “At several major inflection points in this country’s history, from the Great Depression, World War II, the Civil Rights era to the financial crisis, Congress stepped in and changed who could own a home and how they could afford one.” The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act that finally passed Congress last week with overwhelmingly bipartisan support could present the next example of legislation that helps Americans to achieve their dreams of homeownership, according to Berner. That’s because the legislation includes many provisions that are aimed at boosting the housing supply—which may ultimately enable more Americans to become homeowners. “We don’t anticipate a major uptick in homeownership, especially not right away, but the bill has the potential to relieve some downward pressure on homeownership by increasing home production and facilitating more matches with prospective buyers,” Berner exclusively tells Fast Company. Currently, about 65% of American households own their homes, according to figures from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. WAITING DECADES FOR ASSISTANCE Millennials have had to wait for many years for a federal bill that might ease the path to homeownership, whereas prior generations benefited