AEI Housing Center

Report

AEI State Housing Supply Legislative Update

As of today, 21 state legislatures have one or more bills pending, enacted, or passed that have total or partial alignment with AEI Housing Center Playbook Options 1-3. 2026 is shaping up to be the…

BY Edward J. Pinto ON 16 Apr 26

Report

Rehabilitating Housing Supply: Evidence from an Institutional Investor’s Acquisition, Renovation, and Market Position

Institutional investors have become a focal point in public debate over housing affordability, often portrayed as a major force driving rising home prices and limiting access to homeownership. Section 901 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act imposes a complex set of limits on the ability of large institutional investors (LII) owning 350 or more properties to freely purchase and own single-family rentals.

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 15 Apr 26

Report

Senate Investor Ban To Cut Supply & Hurt Low-Income Families

Institutional investors have become a focal point in public debate over housing affordability, often portrayed as a major force driving rising home prices and limiting access to homeownership. Section 901 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act imposes a complex set of limits on the ability of large institutional investors (LII) owning 350 or more properties to freely purchase and own single-family rentals.

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 10 Apr 26

Report

American Enterprise Institute

AEI Housing Market Indicators, March 2026

February 2026’s preliminary YoY HPA was 1.1%, the lowest level of the series, down from 1.6% a month ago and 3.1% in February 2025.

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter + Sissi Li ON 31 Mar 26

Report

AEI National Home Price Appreciation (HPA) Index: February 2026

National home price appreciation trends for February 2026.

BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto + Sissi Li ON 26 Mar 26

Report

Housing Finance Watch (Week 12, 2026)

PDF to full report Key takeaways: View Full Text Housing Finance Watch 2026 Week 12 (March 14 – March 20) Median purchase rate increased to 6.125% in week 12. Rates have increased since hostilities in…

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter + Sissi Li ON 24 Mar 26

Article

Why First-Time Buyer Age Isn’t Rising—Even as Housing Gets Less Affordable

Home prices have surged over the past two decades, and by most measures, affordability has worsened. Yet data from the New York Fed show that the median age of first-time buyers obtaining a mortgage has remained remarkably stable, hovering in the mid-30s.

BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto ON 22 Apr 26

Op-Ed

RealClearMarkets

For a Housing Fix, Look to the Laboratories We Know as States

Federal housing policy is afflicted by several shortcomings—it is expensive, outdated, and inflexible. The states, free from these restrictions, have begun experimenting with tailored approaches. Congress should take note.

BY Edward J. Pinto ON 13 Apr 26

Post

AEIdeas

FHA Premium Cuts Move Market Shares, Not the Affordability Needle

FHA delinquencies are on the rise, indicating that borrowers are under stress; DTI ratios are historically elevated; and the current housing market expansion has run uninterrupted since at least 2013. FHA should be building out the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund in preparation for economic downturn.

BY Tobias Peter + Amanda Dial ON 10 Apr 26

Article

Civitas Outlook

Washington’s Housing Fix Isn’t a Fix

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is being billed as the most ambitious federal housing package in decades. Its breadth is undeniable. Spanning hundreds of pages and over 40 provisions, it attempts to tackle everything from zoning reform to rental assistance. Yet ambition should not be confused with effectiveness. A closer look suggests the bill risks deepening the very problems it claims to solve, while steering housing policy further away from market-based solutions and toward federal overreach.

BY Tobias Peter ON 25 Mar 26

Article

By Targeting Investors, Washington Could Trigger the Next Housing Bust

Policymakers will not improve housing by driving away investment or pushing risky mortgages onto borrowers who cannot sustain them. The country needs more homes, not policies that risk destabilizing the housing finance system.

BY Tobias Peter ON 10 Mar 26

Op-Ed

Minnesota Reformer

Housing Affordability Is Slipping in Minnesota—State Policy Can Help

Housing affordability has become one of Minnesota’s biggest issues: A young family can’t buy its first home, a nurse or teacher must move farther from work, a business struggles to hire because workers can’t find a nearby place to live.

BY Tobias Peter + Alex Horowitz ON 9 Mar 26

Article

Why First-Time Buyer Age Isn’t Rising—Even as Housing Gets Less Affordable

Home prices have surged over the past two decades, and by most measures, affordability has worsened. Yet data from the New York Fed show that the median age of first-time buyers obtaining a mortgage has remained remarkably stable, hovering in the mid-30s.

BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto ON 22 Apr 26

Report

AEI State Housing Supply Legislative Update

As of today, 21 state legislatures have one or more bills pending, enacted, or passed that have total or partial alignment with AEI Housing Center Playbook Options 1-3. 2026 is shaping up to be the…

BY Edward J. Pinto ON 16 Apr 26

Report

Rehabilitating Housing Supply: Evidence from an Institutional Investor’s Acquisition, Renovation, and Market Position

Institutional investors have become a focal point in public debate over housing affordability, often portrayed as a major force driving rising home prices and limiting access to homeownership. Section 901 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act imposes a complex set of limits on the ability of large institutional investors (LII) owning 350 or more properties to freely purchase and own single-family rentals.

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 15 Apr 26

Op-Ed

RealClearMarkets

For a Housing Fix, Look to the Laboratories We Know as States

Federal housing policy is afflicted by several shortcomings—it is expensive, outdated, and inflexible. The states, free from these restrictions, have begun experimenting with tailored approaches. Congress should take note.

BY Edward J. Pinto ON 13 Apr 26

Post

AEIdeas

FHA Premium Cuts Move Market Shares, Not the Affordability Needle

FHA delinquencies are on the rise, indicating that borrowers are under stress; DTI ratios are historically elevated; and the current housing market expansion has run uninterrupted since at least 2013. FHA should be building out the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund in preparation for economic downturn.

BY Tobias Peter + Amanda Dial ON 10 Apr 26

Report

Senate Investor Ban To Cut Supply & Hurt Low-Income Families

Institutional investors have become a focal point in public debate over housing affordability, often portrayed as a major force driving rising home prices and limiting access to homeownership. Section 901 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act imposes a complex set of limits on the ability of large institutional investors (LII) owning 350 or more properties to freely purchase and own single-family rentals.

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 10 Apr 26

Report

American Enterprise Institute

AEI Housing Market Indicators, March 2026

February 2026’s preliminary YoY HPA was 1.1%, the lowest level of the series, down from 1.6% a month ago and 3.1% in February 2025.

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter + Sissi Li ON 31 Mar 26

Report

AEI National Home Price Appreciation (HPA) Index: February 2026

National home price appreciation trends for February 2026.

BY Tobias Peter + Edward J. Pinto + Sissi Li ON 26 Mar 26

Article

Civitas Outlook

Washington’s Housing Fix Isn’t a Fix

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is being billed as the most ambitious federal housing package in decades. Its breadth is undeniable. Spanning hundreds of pages and over 40 provisions, it attempts to tackle everything from zoning reform to rental assistance. Yet ambition should not be confused with effectiveness. A closer look suggests the bill risks deepening the very problems it claims to solve, while steering housing policy further away from market-based solutions and toward federal overreach.

BY Tobias Peter ON 25 Mar 26

Report

Housing Finance Watch (Week 12, 2026)

PDF to full report Key takeaways: View Full Text Housing Finance Watch 2026 Week 12 (March 14 – March 20) Median purchase rate increased to 6.125% in week 12. Rates have increased since hostilities in…

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter + Sissi Li ON 24 Mar 26

Press

Discussing institutional investors in the housing market: Pinto on NexstarTV

Codirector of the AEI Housing Center Edward Pinto discusses institutional investors in the housing market on NexstarTV.

BY Edward J. Pinto ON 24 Mar 26

Report

Prevalence of GSE Appraisal Waivers

This report tracks trends for GSE appraisal waivers monthly and provides data on the risk characteristics of these loans. To download the most recent data, please click here. To read our comment letter to FHFA…

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 19 Mar 26

Report

Housing Finance Watch (Week 11, 2026)

PDF to full report Key takeaways: View Full Text Housing Finance Watch 2026 Week 11 (March 7 – March 13) Median purchase rate remained effectively constant at 6% in week 11. This is within 1/8th…

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter + Sissi Li ON 17 Mar 26

Report

Senate Passes 21st Century ROAD Act, with Multiple Harmful Impacts on Low-Income Families

Yesterday the Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD Act by a vote of 89–10. Among its many provisions is one especially harmful measure to low-income families. Nearly 50% of full-time low-income workers live in single-family…

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter ON 13 Mar 26

Report

Good Neighbors: Market Intelligence

3X3 Solutions | For Our Neighbors One Pathway. One Solution. Three Measures That Matter. Housing Pressure Price ÷ Income Point in Time PIT per 1,000 Median Days Homeless System Throughput (SPM 1b) The Solution: Housing…

BY Edward J. Pinto + Tobias Peter + Arthur Gailes + et al. ON 12 Mar 26