The housing bills still in committeeWhat each pending bill would change for valuation and collateral risk

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law on July 11, 2026, and carried two appraisal bills with it: the Appraisal Industry Improvement Act became Section 403, and the Appraisal Modernization Act became Section 704. The rest of the housing agenda is still in committee. Inman reviewed the bills it tracks on October 29 and found that none it highlighted in September had advanced since. Our check of the official bill status records the same day agrees, with one bill that moved the other way: on September 16, the House Financial Services Committee voted 21 to 28 against reporting H.R. 10325, which would raise the share of Federal Home Loan Bank earnings that goes to affordable housing.

Both chambers are largely out until after the November 3 election. The 119th Congress ends on January 3, 2027, and a bill that has not been enacted by then must be introduced again in the 120th. Two deadlines will bring housing back before that: the National Flood Insurance Program’s authorization and the stopgap law that funds HUD both expire on December 11.

The First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Act, H.R. 4717 in the House with 38 cosponsors and S. 2402 in the Senate with the same text, would rewrite Section 36 of the tax code. A first-time buyer would get a credit equal to 10% of the purchase price, up to $15,000. Two tests shrink it. The income test phases it out as the buyer’s modified adjusted gross income rises from 150% to 170% of HUD’s area median income for the household’s size. The price test phases it out as the purchase price rises from 110% to 125% of the “area median purchase price,” the median price for a home in that area and year. Treasury, after consulting HUD, would decide how that median is measured. A buyer who sells or stops living in the home within four years pays back a share of the credit for each year left.

With a $400,000 area median, a $440,000 home gets the full $15,000 and a $500,000 home gets nothing. Between those prices, every $1,000 added to the price takes $250 off the credit. The bill defines purchase price as the buyer’s adjusted basis on the purchase date, so a seller concession that changes basis also changes the credit. Which sales Treasury counts, and how it draws each area, would decide where the band falls in each market.

The last federal first-time buyer credit ran from 2008 to 2010. In a study later published in the Journal of Finance, the economists Berger, Turner and Zwick estimated that it raised home sales nationally by 8.1% to 12.1%, raised median prices by about 1% for each standard deviation of a market’s exposure to the program, and sped the sale of homes from distressed sellers to new owners. The figures here are from the 2018 working paper version.

H.R. 3526 / S. 2867Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act

The Uplifting First-Time Homebuyers Act (H.R. 3526, 62 cosponsors; S. 2867, from Senators Ruben Gallego and Todd Young) would raise from $10,000 to $50,000 the amount a first-time buyer can take from an IRA without the 10% early withdrawal penalty. It changes where down payment money comes from, which underwriters document, and it adds buying power without adding homes.

The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (H.R. 2854, 70 cosponsors; S. 1686) is a tax credit for developers who build or substantially rehabilitate owner-occupied homes in distressed census tracts. Its findings name the problem it is written for:

State housing credit agencies would allocate the credit. Under the new Section 42A, the credit for each home sold is the smallest of three amounts: the reasonable development cost minus the sale price net of selling expenses, which the agency can raise to 120% of that gap if it finds the increase necessary for feasibility; 40% of eligible development costs; or 32% of the national median sale price for new homes. With the Census Bureau’s September 2026 median of $400,400, that third limit is $128,128.

The bill sets who can buy and where. An eligible tract has a median family income at or below 80% of the area’s, a poverty rate at least 130% of the area’s, and home values at or below the area median, with other categories for high-poverty cities, rural areas and disaster areas. The first buyer’s income can be up to 140% of area median family income (120% in the hardest-hit tracts), and the first sale price of a one-unit home can be up to four times the area median family income. If that owner sells within five years, half of the gain goes back to the agency, falling by 10 percentage points for each full year owned, secured by a lien and waivable for hardship.

The VA Appraisal Modernization Act, S. 4218, comes from Senator Tammy Duckworth with Senators Tim Sheehy and Jim Banks. It was introduced on March 26 and has had no action since, and we found no House companion. It would add Section 3731A to the VA home loan chapter. VA would set its appraisal fees within 180 days of enactment, publish them, and adjust them every January 1 by FHFA’s purchase-only house price index, rounded to the nearest $25. Counties that meet a high-demand test would get at least 125% of the base fee, and up to 150% after 4 quarters on the list. In high-demand and remote counties, VA would also pay round-trip mileage at the GSA rate.

The bill also orders VA to study, within 180 days, whether to contract for appraisers in areas where supply cannot meet demand, and whether to restructure its appraisal process to more closely mirror FHA’s, where the lender orders the appraisal.

H.R. 5520, 11 cosponsorsPortal for Appraisal Licensing Act

From Representative Barry Loudermilk. The bill would have the Appraisal Subcommittee build a cloud portal where appraisers and appraisal management companies file license, certification and registration applications and renewals, pay fees and get letters of good standing, with state boards connected to it and given access to criminal history records for background checks. It was not folded into the ROAD Act. For appraisers who hold credentials in several states, it would cut the paperwork of each renewal.

Already lawThe two appraisal bills that passed

The Appraisal Industry Improvement Act and the Appraisal Modernization Act are still listed as pending in committee in both chambers, but their substance is now Sections 403 and 704 of the ROAD Act: licensed appraisers on FHA loans after HUD guidance due March 8, 2027, and value challenge procedures at four agencies. Our ROAD Act feature covers both, and our ROV feature covers Section 704 in depth.

November 23, 2026Comments close on Treasury’s investor rule

Treasury published its proposed rule under ROAD Act Title X on October 23. It would let a covered investor buy a home to renovate and rent if improvements total at least 15% of the purchase price, with a separate 10% safe harbor for the substantial rehabilitation requirement. That makes renovation spending against price a documented test. Build-to-rent purchases qualify if the home has not been owner-occupied, is bought within 18 months of its certificate of occupancy and is first occupied by renters, and Treasury asks whether 18 months is the right window.

December 11, 2026Flood insurance and federal funding expire

If the National Flood Insurance Program’s authorization lapses, FEMA cannot sell new policies or renew expiring ones, while policies in force continue. NAR has estimated that a lapse affects about 1,300 home sales a day, as reported by Claims Journal. The stopgap law that funds HUD expires the same day. HUD’s contingency plan for a funding lapse says FHA will keep endorsing single-family loans, except reverse mortgages and Title I loans, though endorsements that need an FHA underwriter cannot be finalized until funding returns.

January 3, 2027The 119th Congress ends

Every bill on this page that has not been enacted dies. Sponsors can reintroduce them in the 120th Congress with new numbers.

January 7, 2027Large investors stop buying

Under ROAD Act Title X, investors with 350 or more single-family homes can no longer buy more outside the exceptions. Our ROAD Act feature covers the exceptions and what the restriction means for comparable sales.