From NAHB: What Do the Midterm Results Mean for Housing?
From NAHB Blog
This post was updated on Nov. 13.
NAHB Chief Lobbyist Jim Tobin provides an analysis of the midterm elections and what’s in store for housing in the new Congress.
Midterm elections are always a referendum on the occupant of the White House, and the 2022 midterms were no exception. With both parties well-funded by record-breaking campaign spending and both chambers of Congress closely divided, it did not take a “wave” election for either party to claim the majority; it was merely a question “by how many seats.”
The high number of early voting ballots and the counting rules in many states make election night more of an election season. We do not know the outcome of many of the House races and one Senate contest, but we do know that the anticipated GOP wave never materialized, and the electorate is split down the middle. Republicans are on track to reclaim a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. Democrats retained the Senate with a slim 50-49 margin, as Georgia is heading to its third runoff election in less than two years.
What does this all mean for home building and housing?
Regardless of the final House and Senate tallies, any legislation with a prayer of being signed into law by President Biden must be bipartisan. While the next speaker of the House can likely wrangle the 218 votes needed to move legislation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) does not have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. So the parties will need to negotiate and compromise to move important legislation forward in the next Congress, including housing legislation.