Good News for Real Estate

On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package to keep the government running and funded through September 30. The bill includes NAR advocacy priorities, including fair and affordable housing, flood insurance, and small business administration.

“Annual spending bills are the bread and butter of our advocacy operation,” says Shannon McGahn, chief advocacy officer for NAR. “This measure contains all 12 appropriations bills that fund the government rolled into one package. We work throughout the year to ensure provisions important to the housing sector get the attention they deserve during this process.”

NAR’s policy team analyzed the 2,700-page bill, offering a summary of provisions critical to the real estate sector, which supports nearly 20% of the economy.

Notably, the bipartisan package includes several NAR priorities:

• Affordable Housing: The bill provides $398 million for related agencies, including $166 million for NeighborWorks to support unique solutions to expand affordable housing options, increase housing counseling assistance, and strengthen economic development.
• Rural Housing Loans and Rental Assistance: The bill provides $30 billion in loan authority for the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program. The bill includes $1.25 billion in direct single-family housing loans, which provide home loan assistance to low-income rural families. In addition, a total of $1.495 billion is provided for rental assistance and rental vouchers for affordable rental housing for low-income families and the elderly in rural communities to renew all existing rental assistance contracts.
• HUD and Rental Assistance: For the fiscal year 2022, the bill provides a total of $53.7 billion for HUD, an increase of $4 billion above the fiscal year 2021. It also includes $27.4 billion for Tenant-based Rental Assistance to continue to serve more than 2.3 million very low- and extremely low-income households nationwide.
• Flood insurance: Extends the NFIP through September 30 and provides significant funding for communities to respond to and mitigate the impacts of future disasters, with $276 million for flood mapping.
• Broadband: Includes more than $550 million to expand rural broadband services on top of broadband funding in the American Rescue Plan and bipartisan infrastructure bill last year.
• Fair Housing: Contains $85 million for fair housing activities, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program, Fair Housing Assistance Program, and the National Fair Housing Training Academy. This level represents an increase of $12.5 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.
• Violence Against Women Act: Reauthorizes this legislation and establishes the Violence Prevention Office at HUD. NAR was part of the original group of housing industry supporters that helped craft the housing provisions of the bill.
• Transportation & Infrastructure: Provides the remaining funding to implement programs and spending in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, passed in November. Provides more than $10 billion to upgrade the nation’s water infrastructure.

The package also revives the EB-5 Visa Regional Center Program, increases funding to combat money laundering, and supports Small Business Administration efforts to help underserved entrepreneurs.

Read NAR's full report and analysis provisions important to real estate.