The Quiet Collusion Making Housing Even Less Affordable

Finding an affordable home today feels like a game where the rules are rigged and the board is hidden. While headlines focus on interest rates, zoning laws, and regulatory red tape, a quiet crisis is brewing behind closed doors: a powerful real estate collusion designed to keep ordinary buyers completely in the dark.

When it comes to high home prices, there’s no shortage of blame to go around. Causes include restrictive zoning, excessive regulations, burdensome environmental reviews, and stubbornly high interest rates. Congress recently addressed several of these factors with the first major federal housing bill in decades. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which became law in July 2026, stops private equity firms from buying up starter homes to rent out, slashes regulations and environmental review standards that slow construction and drive up prices, and rewards jurisdictions that build more homes.