What the midterms mean for the future of housing policy

Transcript

Chay Halbert: So if Congress changes hands and Democrats are control of at least the House, you know, they've been very clear that they' wanna focus on oversight. So that means, you know, putting a magnifying glass on Director Polti at the Federal Housing Finance Agency. You know, that means, putting a magnifying glass at Treasury, at, uh, HUD, you know, at all these agencies. They- they're gonna wanna have those directors, those agency. heads testifying before them and asking them pointed questions, you know, about what they're doing in the housing industry.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Welcome to Beyond the Buildings by Cotality. I am your host, Maiclaire Bolton Smith, and I'm just as curious as you are about everything that happens in the property industry. On this podcast, we satisfy our collective curiosity, explore questions from every angle, and look beyond the obvious. With every conversation, we illuminate what is possible.

The US national midterm elections are almost here, and there's a lot at stake. In the property market, the balance of power will influence everything from zoning to institutional investment, but there's one piece of legislation that both parties will continue to move forward, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. This piece of legislation was swept through Congress earlier this year with rare bipartisan support. It was billed as the most sweeping change to housing in decades, but its passage was just the beginning.

Now, the work needs to be done, but how things move forward will depend on the balance of power that shakes out on November 4th. So to talk about what the midterms hold and what that means for the property industry, we have Cotality's Principal of Policy and Public Relations, Chay Helbert, back to the show. Chay, welcome back.

Chay Halbert: Hey, Maiclaire. It's great to be with you.

Allie Barefoot: Before we get too far in this episode, here's a friendly reminder about how to see what's coming up next in the property market. To make it easy, we curate the latest insight and analysis for you online. Find us using the handle @cotality on all of our social media channels, but now, let's get back to the show.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Well, I feel like it was just a couple weeks ago that we talked about the ROAD to Housing, but that was a couple of months ago now, so let's just dive in. Can you remind our listeners and just give us an overview on what is the R-O-A-D, ROAD to Housing Act, and why it passed earlier this year, and your expectations of the implementation post midterms?

Chay Halbert: Yeah, I mean, you are correct to say, um, that, you know, with its passage, you know, that really is just the be- just the beginning.

I guess I can, you know, take a step back. You know, the, the ROAD- the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, uh, which is a big mouthful-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: and it really reflects, you know, many, many bills that have been smushed together, and a lot of them are really kind of small. And, you know, I don't wanna say that they- don't do much, but, you know, individually the pieces of the whole bill don't really do that much. But, you know, in concert, you know, hopefully the changes to things like manufactured housing, you know-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: incentives for changing zoning. Um, you know, there is some cash in the bill, uh, for an innovation program, and we will see what that means, uh-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay ...

Chay Halbert: in the coming weeks and years and months to come. Um, but yeah, it's, it is really kind of a kitchen sink approach.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: Uh, and hopefully, you know, again, as, uh, not just Congress but, you know, the federal government as a whole, the different agencies that are tasked with implementing this law, um, you know, hopefully in the years to come they' will implement the rules and the regs, uh, that really bring it into life and, you know, actually rubber meets the road and homes get built-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: and, and people get money to buy those homes. And, you know, I guess talking about you, you, you had also asked why it passed.

I mean, the, the, it passed because, you know, what we're talking about today. Uh, the midterms are coming up and members of Congress are gonna go back to their districts and ask for their constituents for their votes to send them back to Congress, and they' have to have something to show for that. They have to have a reason that, uh, people would vote them back into office again. And so, um-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Sure. Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: members from both sides of the aisle felt that, you know, we all understand the housing crunch that's happened right now and the affordability crunch that's gripped the whole country and to the world to a larger extent.

Um, and, you know, passing this bill is something that they can go back to their districts and say, "Hey, we did this. I did this, uh, and you should send me back so I can keep doing more stuff like that."

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah. Well, I mean, we've, there's a ton in this bill, Chay, so can you maybe... what are just a few of the, you know, more critical provisions that we should keep our eye on?

Chay Halbert: You know, I think first and foremost, you know, the thing that got the most attention was the investor ban.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yep.

Chay Halbert: So, um, you know, it's like big, large companies buying many homes, um, renting them out, uh, flipping them, that kind of thing. Um, you know, so that will, that will not be allowed, uh, you know, essentially as of now, uh, but the implementation dates, uh, for that are, are coming pretty quickly. You know, I think there are some coming by the end of the year, the beginning of next year.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: Uh, companies will have to start divesting, you know, on a glide path. It doesn't all have to happen at once. Um, and then it, it prohibits, uh, you know, large companies from, uh, buying homes in the future.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: Uh, you know, with the, with the idea being that homes should be for people, for individuals. Um, but, you know, once you get into it, you know, it's real sticky and there's gonna be, uh, you know, a lot of important rulemaking that's actually underway right now, and some of it has been announced. And so the devil really is gonna be in the detail in how-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: the different agencies decide, you know, who is a large institutional investor.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Right. Yeah.

Chay Halbert: What is a home? You know, these, these things, they do actually need to be defined.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: Um, and they're in the process of doing that.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: You know, another thing that I would look out for is, uh, the modular home. Uh, provisions in the bill. And so, you know, uh, FHA or the Federal Housing Administration, you know, they're going to come out, um, with some, uh... Hopefully they will come out with some rules and some regs that, you know, define modular homes, define, um, you know, homes that were, that were previously m- uh, mobile homes, you know. Uh, it will change some of those definitions to-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay ...

Chay Halbert: allow for FHA, uh, construction financing, uh, that previously wasn't allowed.

Um, there are also some HUD grant-making. HUD or the, uh, Department of Housing and Urban Development. Uh, that should hopefully happen as well.

Uh, that will, uh, you know, hopefully give different communities out there, uh, some money when it comes to, uh, community planning. So if they put together plans that the government thinks are a good idea in terms of, uh, increasing, uh, you know, housing, housing around transit corridors, you know, housing where housing is needed, affordable housing-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: um, you know, in theory there will be dollars available in the coming years, uh, for communities that do that kind of planning.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay. That- that's a lot, and definitely things to keep an eye on. But I think the one thing people are asking most is when will the 21st Century Road to Housing Act actually get funded? It- it sounds like there's five priorities here, but which one do you think the newly formed Congress will focus on first?

Chay Halbert: Well, you know, at, at this point a lot of it, uh, is actually in the hands of the agencies. Now, Congress certainly plays a role in oversight-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay ...

Chay Halbert: uh, in making sure that the law is enacted as, you know, they wanted it to be. And if they don't think it's going the way they want, they can certainly, you know, pass another law, or they can, you know, um, question the agencies themselves as to why they're not doing, you know-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: what they, what Congress wants them to do.

Um, you know, so while there isn't necessarily a direct role for Congress, they're certainly gonna keep watching it. And, you know, you hit the nail on the head when it comes to funding. Um, you know, they pass the law, and, you know, if you can... it to, to, to do a little bit of Schoolhouse Rock here- They, they authorize the law, but they need to appropriate the funds for it.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: And so that appropriation, you know, that happens every year more or less.

Um, but, you know, they'll, they will need to in the future appropriate the funds.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: You know, in terms of all of the different little programs and reports, and all the little nooks and crannies of the bill, in terms of what's actually funded or what needs to be funded through mandatory spending, I, you know, it's like I, I, I might have to do a little more homework on it. I believe the innovation fund, which is about 200 million, I do believe that's mandatory.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: I don't think anything else is.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Ah, okay.

Chay Halbert: And so, you know, it, it, you come to the situation where Congress passes a law. Are they gonna then spend the money to enact the law? Well, we'll see.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: You know, every year there is a lot of fights, uh, on Capitol Hill about what money should be spent for what.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Sure. Mm-hmm.

Chay Halbert: And so this law joins the, the pantheon of all the other things that the federal government, um, that our lawmakers, uh, have agreements and disagreements over.

Um, you know, you would think that something that passed with such strong bipartisan support and which, you know, a- again, everybody is feeling this housing crunch. Everybody is feeling the affordability crunch.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm.

Chay Halbert: And so that pressure is not gonna go away. So-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: you know, I do think when it comes to, uh, appropriation season, as they call it in DC, you know, this will remain front of, front of mind, uh-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: because this problem isn't going anywhere.

And so, um, we will... But we will see, though. Uh, but, you know, appropriations, um, you know, at least for this year, it actually runs out at in December. They're gonna have to pass some more funding bills that, you know, go through the next year and so on and so forth. Um, but probably early spring is when you will see, uh, Congress takes its real first pass-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay ...

Chay Halbert: at, uh, doing, you know, at least kind of like a year-long, a, a year's worth of appropriations.

And, you know, we will certainly know by then what the makeup of Congress will be, and that will also very much dictate, you know, what, um, you know, what the priorities are and what members think needs the money and what doesn't.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay. We will be watching and, yeah, definitely keeping our eyes on spring.

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Maiclaire Bolton Smith: I, I wanna talk a little bit more about institutional investors because that, that's a big one in this bill. Um, the original limits on the investor class came as part of the Road to Housing bill. But even before that law took action, um, at Cotality, we were looking into this, and our data showed that institutional investment had pulled back. So how do the midterm election outcomes affect hedge fund property ownership?

Chay Halbert: You know, that'll be, um... You know, it's a good question because, you know, that really is the, you know, the headline piece of this bill, and the thing that really produced the most consternation, you know, was the, um, you know, was this company ownership of, of private homes.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: And, you know, I think the, the way the winds are blowing, you know, it does seem like the Democrats are gonna take back at least the House, possibly the Senate. That's in play.

You know, if that happens, I can say that, you know, the institutional investor ban was pretty bipartisan.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm.

Chay Halbert: I think in general you would think that you would see Democrats, um, being more-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: ... strident about it. You know? Okay.

Chay Halbert: It's something that they probably care about a little bit more. You know?

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: It's something that Republicans aren't necessarily opposed to, um, but it doesn't necessarily animate them.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: And so I think if you have Democrats that are in control of one or both chambers, that they're gonna stay on that. And, you know, this is really the one piece that actually currently has, um, I think rulemaking that's, uh, underway. It's probably the one thing that you can really count on that's gonna get done at the agencies and implemented.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: Um, but it, you know, it depends on h- what those rules are and, you know, all of those fine details and whether or not, um, Democrats, if they're control, whether or not Democrats in Congress think those rules are good enough. And so I think that, you know, given the situation, given the way that the, the political winds are blowing, you probably are gonna see a lot of scrutiny around the institutional investor band.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: And that pullback that you're talking about, you know, the, uh, those folks, you know, it's like they can read the newspaper, too. I think they can see the way-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: that the winds are blowing, and they understand that this isn't something that they can just kind of wave their hand at and depend on, uh, a lax regulatory environment.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah. And how do you expect the institutional investors to respond to it?

Chay Halbert: Uh, you know, I think first and foremost, I think they're gonna follow the law. You know? It's like it's very clear-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: that this is, this is, um, you know, uh, it's very clear what Congress wants out of this. You know, it's very clear that just on a kind of popular level, it is popular. You know, people don't like the idea of big companies owning a bunch of homes.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm.

Chay Halbert: And so, you know, there's really no, um, there's kinda no leg for them to stand on, so to speak. And so I, I think that, you know, they're going to, you know, I th- you know, they're gonna be a part of the rulemaking process. The rulemaking process, um, you know, the agencies, I think that Treasury's gonna be in- responsible for this one.

They, uh, you know, they take comment, and so there'll be lots and lots and thousands and thousands of comments, I'm sure.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: And a lot of them will come from industry. And so, you know, that industry. comment will give you an idea of how they see this shaking out and how they feel that they should be-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Right ...

Chay Halbert: regulated in this.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah. Um, another part, Chay, that, uh, with institutional investors is this institutional landlords. So what happens to rental prices if Congress caps institutional landlords?

Chay Halbert: That is a good question because that, that remains an open question.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: And, you know, that's one way that you can say that there, you know, there can be some benefit from companies-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: owning lots of homes is that they have the overhead and they have the infrastructure to, um, to maintain these homes. And even if somebody isn't renting them, to make sure that the lawn is still mowed and all those kind of things, and that the repairs-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Right. Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: are kept up. And so, you know, do smaller, kinda mom-and-pop, um, uh, landlords step into that void? We'll see. I don't know. You know? It's like, is the capital-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: out there for small landlords to do that? That is an open question.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: And so in terms- Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: of rent prices, you know, if you see a, a ceding of that space by big companies, you know, what happens to those homes? You know? It's like, do they go back into, um, you know, for sale?

You know, it's like, you know, does that help, um, homeowners? You know, it's like, uh, you know, does it help folks that want to... You know, 'cause there are folks that wanna rent a single-family home for-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: lots of different reasons.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah. Absolutely.

Chay Halbert: And so that is a really good question, and that is something that we will, we will see. We, we will see how that shakes out. Um, but there is, there is certainly a lot of, um, there's certainly a lot of concern, uh, with folks who are very familiar within this, with this industry.

when it-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: comes to rent prices, uh, and institutional investors, uh, who l- who have lots of single-family rental.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: And, you know, they don't think it's necessarily the case, uh, that rents will either stay the same or, or go down-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Interesting ...

Chay Halbert: just because an institutional investor is, is no longer the landlord.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah. I, uh, definitely one to keep your eye on. Um, okay, I wanna talk about zoning reform. So the Road to Housing Act created powerful financial incentives for local governments to adopt pro-housing, transit-oriented development. What do we think will happen if the makeup of Congress changes?

Chay Halbert: You know, I, I think those are parts of the bill that, again, that will get emphasis. Um-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm. Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: you know, when it comes to, like you said, um, housing centered around transit, you know, more density, I would say in general... You know, the funny thing is that these aren't necessarily, you know, um, you know, Republican and Democrat issues.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: But again, I do think that in general the Democrats probably, uh, shade a little bit more towards wanting to get a little bit more density. Um, you know, it's like their districts tend to be in urban places. And so, you know, the, the health and the vitality of the housing market in those places is important to them 'cause that's their, those are their constituents.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm.

Chay Halbert: You know? That's certainly not universally true, but it tends to be true.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: And so, you know, I do think that, you know, for those members who are representing urban places, cities, uh, you know, even more dense exurbs, um, you're gonna, you're gonna see the, uh, the, you're gonna see them wanting to funnel money into these kind of programs.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm.

Chay Halbert: And so again, um, and again, just a little bit more Schoolhouse Rock, you know, appropriations has to start in the House.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: Um, you know, that's in the Constitution. And, um, with the, you know, it, it seems pretty clear that the House will probably be in Democratic hands, uh, come next year. And so, you know, as appropriations, you know, gets kicked off each year, uh, the Democrats that control the House are gonna be the ones writing those checks for these kind of programs that we've been talking about.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah. I guess, I guess, Chay, I mean, we, we kind of are looking at this as what will happen if the makeup of Congress changes, but I guess what about if the balance of power stays the same?

Chay Halbert: You know, if it stays the same, I think that you will, you know, be perfectly blunt, I think you probably just get the investor ban enacted-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: um, uh, you know, without really much pushback from Congress. Um, you know, it would probably be a lighter-touch type of regulation. Um, you know, just guessing here, but, you know, some kind of self-reporting, that kind of thing-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: um, without a lot of, uh, you know, really kind of onerous, um, you know, meddling in terms of making sure that the companies are following the rules of the road here.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: Um, that's my guess. You know, in terms of the other parts, you know, the, the Republicans that, you know, they're in control now, and, you know, they haven't put a lot of money into housing programs as, as it is now.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: And so I don't know why that would necessarily change-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: um, if they were to retain control. So I think short answer is that you probably get the investor ban, uh, in place. Uh, and it's probably a pretty light-touch regulation.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: And then you probably have to wait a couple of years until 2028 to see any kind of, uh, new emphasis on putting money into different parts of the bill.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay. Okay. Well, again, we will we will see what happens.

Um, okay, a, a lot of what we're been talking about is the ROAD to Housing Bill, but there's other things that are kind of relevant to the midterm elections as well, too, and one that the industry is paying close attention to is the redesign of the uniform appraisal data set, so which is also known as UAD 3.6.

Um, this was a rule that was intended to standardize and digitize appraisals nationally. Um, however, at the end of September, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac extended the deadline for implementation of this.

So what does this adjustment mean for mortgage lenders and homeowners?

Chay Halbert: Well, you know, I think you can see that, um, that, that Fannie and Freddie, the GSEs, you know, they're seeing that, you know, they can't... They, they need to take a little bit more time with this.

You know, I, I have to admit this isn't my, my strongest suit when it comes to, uh, you know, my government affairs job. But, you know, I, I have been watching it a little bit, and I know that they've, um, you know, they've allowed for a one-time exception when it comes to, uh, you know, it's, like, a- adopting UAD 3.6.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm.

Chay Halbert: And so they're gonna give, you know, you know, if you need a little bit more time, they will give you, you know, a one-time exception so far-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay ...

Chay Halbert: um, you know, to implement.

And so i- i- it's gonna be a phase, you know, it looks like it's gonna be a phased rollout, uh, for this. Um, but, you know, overall, you know, I, I think in general, you know, having a uniform system is probably gonna be better, uh, for lots of different folks and, you know, when it comes to lots of different folks in the industry. And when it comes to the government side of things, you know, there's, again, lots of data that, you know, there's lot of, you know, higher-quality data that can come out of a uniform, uh, a uniform system-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: um, that can answer lots of questions that, you know, uh, different lawmakers may have-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: about the housing industry. And so again, I think from both sides in terms of the regulators, the lawmakers, and from industry, you know, this is something that, you know, they wanna see happen.

But, you know, it, it looks like, you know, Fannie and Freddie are, are listening to industry in terms of their preparedness to get this done.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay. Okay. I guess on that topic of valuing homes, another program that appeared this year was a Federal Housing Administration pilot program for small-dollar loans.

Um, and that program specifically directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, um, to look at loaning the FHA-backed mortgages with original balances of $100,000 or less. So what do we think will happen to this program if the makeup of Congress changes?

Chay Halbert: You know, I, I think that this is something that, again, you know, if you have Dems in control of at least one or more chambers, you know, th- this would be something to add to the list of stuff that they want to keep an eye on and, and-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: make sure, you know, keeps, um, you know, is an ongoing concern into the future.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: Um, you know, and that's, you know, it's like an element of this is in the ROAD to Housing Act, so, you know, again, it goes back to that, you know, appropriations question.

And, you know, even though these programs are, quote-unquote, "authorized," does Congress then actually put the money in the bucket to get it done?

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm.

Chay Halbert: And again, I think if you have Democrats in control, you know, this is probably something, um, that they would at least support putting money behind.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: And they'll have to, you know, again, negotiate with their Republican counterparts, see if that gets done.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: Um, so I think it's something that, you know, if Congress changes hands, this is something that stays on the radar, um, because it is something that you do find in that ROAD to Housing that, that, that we've been talking about.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Right. So I guess in the similar vein to that, is the $25,000 down payment towards Equity Act still on the ballot for 2026?

Chay Halbert: Uh, I guess I would say, I mean, I guess short answer, yes, because that is actually a Maxine Waters bill. You know, she is-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm ...

Chay Halbert: currently the ranking member of House Financial Services Committee.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay.

Chay Halbert: And if Congress changes hands, she will then go back to being the chair of the committee, so then you have the chair of the committee, you know, with this bill that you've referenced.

Um, you know, she would have very direct control out of passing it out of that committee. She's a long-time, long-serving member who is quite influential in Congress. And so, you know, Congress changing hands significantly increases the likelihood of something like this passing, yeah.

Allie Barefoot: It's that time again. Cotality just dropped new numbers about what's happening in the housing market.

Here's what you need to know. When Washington announced intentions to curb institutional home buying, mega investors, those who own at least 1,000 properties, pulled back almost instantly.

This reaction is heavily concentrated in major bellwether metros. San Jose saw mega investors' share drop 3.2%, followed by declines in Huntsville, San Diego, Seattle, and Riverside. Interestingly, Atlanta, the only major market where institutional buyers account for more than 10% of all purchases, showed no significant decline. While a retraction institutional capital could slow the build-for-rent pipeline and shrink rental options, it also signals a massive opportunity. First-time home buyers are suddenly on a more level playing field to compete for limited starter home inventory, where nearly half of all investor transactions occur.

Cotality economists point out that institutional landlords are actually a lot like shark attacks, highly feared and highly publicized, but in reality, they represent only a tiny slice of the overall residential market.

To read the full report, visit cotality.com/insights. And that's a SIP. See you next time.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Okay. Well, Chay, it's gonna be really interesting to watch this all unfold here in the next couple of weeks, um, and I guess the next couple of months after the election. Uh, so you've been here enough to know that I like to end these with pull out that crystal ball of yours, and what do you think? What can we expect Congress... I'm not gonna ask you to think what's, what's gonna happen, 'cause you've alluded to what you think, what the winds are blowing.

But what do you think we can expect Congress to focus on first for the property industry once all the dust is settled after the election is over?

Chay Halbert: You know, I, I think really what they're gonna concentrate on is oversight.

You know-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Hmm. Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: they've been very clear about that. So if Congress changes hands and Democrats are in control of at least the House-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah ...

Chay Halbert: you know, they've been very clear that they wanna focus on oversight. So that means, you know, putting a magnifying glass on Director Polti at the Federal, Federal Housing Finance Agency. You know, that means putting a magnifying glass at Treasury, at, uh, HUD, you know, at all these agencies. They- they're gonna wanna have those directors, those agency heads testifying before them and asking them pointed questions-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: you know, about what they're doing in the housing industry. How are they, you know, helping with supply, helping with demand? How are they helping folks, um, you know, with affordability, uh, you know, getting into homes, that kind of thing.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah.

Chay Halbert: So I think, you know, in the first six months or so, if Congress changes hands, I think you're gonna see a lot of these agency heads, uh, reporting, you know, trudging up and down Capitol Hill quite a bit, uh, and it's like with microphones and cameras and being asked, uh, you know, very sharp questions-

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Mm-hmm ...

Chay Halbert: uh, from the Democrats.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: Yeah. Okay. Well, we will be watching. And, Chay, I'm sure you'll be back in a few months again for us. to talk about what happened and how things are going. So thank you so much for joining me today on Beyond the Buildings by Cotality.

Chay Halbert: Thanks, Maiclaire. It's always a pleasure.

Maiclaire Bolton Smith: And thank you for listening. I hope you've enjoyed our latest episode. Please remember to leave us a review and let us know your thoughts. And subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to be notified when new episodes are released. And thanks to the team for helping bring this podcast to life, producer Jesse Devinens, editor and sound engineer, Romie Roman, our facts guru, Allie Barefoot, and social media duo, Sarah Buck and Mikyla Brooks. Tune in next time for another conversation, that illuminates the ideas that will define the future.

Allie Barefoot: You still there? Well, thanks for sticking around.

Are you curious to learn a little bit more about our guest today? Chay Halbert is a principal housing policy analyst at Cotality. With a background in public sector analytics and housing policy, Chay focuses on the intersection of data-driven property valuation, mortgage market, reforms, and community development block grants.

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