U.S. House Financial Services Committee holds housing supply hearing and signals December markup of housing and banking reforms

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on “Building Capacity: Reducing Government Roadblocks to Housing Supply,” with Chairman French Hill setting out a goal of increasing housing development capacity and simplifying the regulatory framework that affects housing construction and finance. The remarks framed housing affordability as primarily driven by a persistent supply shortfall and highlighted regulatory complexity, including locally designed and approved rules, as a major source of delays and higher costs for builders and property owners. Hill also linked higher building costs, insurance premiums, and interest rates to the inflation surge and argued that improving the viability and competitiveness of community banks through more capital, deposit funding, and lower compliance costs would support greater credit availability alongside “prudent lending practices.” After considering feedback from the hearing, the Committee plans to hold a markup later in December 2025 on a package of housing and banking reform proposals.