WELCOME

Welcome and Happy Wednesday!

It always feels like the moment the 4th of July is over, summer shifts into overdrive and begins to accelerate, almost like we’re flying down a hill, straight into back to school season. What doesn’t help is that I heard my first back to school ad on July 5th. Ugh. I used to let this stress me out, but I have to remember that there’s plenty of summer to come… and that Atlanta will feel hot as Satan’s front porch for months. So I am not letting myself fixate on fall sweaters and pumpkin spice just yet.

However, today I’m going to take y’all to school, because something significant has happened and I want to make sure that we all understand what it means. So, I’m putting on my civics cap, which is a surprise because I didn’t even know I owned a civics cap.

Even though I’m very eager to discuss the details of a certain wedding, that issue of People isn’t out yet, so we have to put a pin in it. While we wait, we’ll get into the Schoolhouse Rock of the ROAD housing bill.

STORYTIME WITH GLENNDA

The ROAD to Housing Is Actually Big and Somewhat Beautiful

Today we’re going to have ourselves a civics lesson! Now, if y’all had told me in high school that one day I would write, “Today we’re going to have ourselves a civics lesson,” I’d have thought you’d lost your damn mind. Also, I looked up “civics” to make sure I was using the term correctly. I am, but if you need a little refresher, civics basically entails how government operates and what our responsibilities are as citizens.

My point is, everybody in real estate has been texting me the same question this week, asking, “Glennda, what exactly does this new housing bill actually do?”

I love that people are asking, because the headlines haven’t been especially helpful. Depending on which paper you read, they make it sound like Congress just solved the housing crisis or completely ruined the housing market. The truth, as usual, lives somewhere in the middle.

I do want to say this—what happened is actually pretty remarkable. Congress passed a major housing bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. In this day and age, I promise you that is practically unheard of. Regardless of where any of us fall politically, I feel really encouraged when people can agree that we have a problem worth solving. So, we’re going to approach this bill from that angle

The Availability Crisis

Housing affordability has become an issue that affects just about everyone. Does not matter whether you’re twenty-five and trying to buy your first home, fifty-five and looking to downsize, or well into your golden years and wondering if your kids and grandkids will ever be able to afford to live in the same city you do.

Not to throw cold water on it, but the passage of this bill is not a magic wand. Mortgage rates aren’t going to wake up tomorrow and decide to be four percent again. Your client’s dream house isn’t suddenly going to be listed for $150,000 less. If anyone’s been waiting for some dramatic overnight correction, this ain’t it. That said, this bill tries to address the problem that created so many of today’s headaches in the first place: America simply hasn’t built enough housing for a very long time. This is a very important piece.

Whenever someone asks me why houses are so expensive, they’re usually expecting me to talk about interest rates or inflation or investors. Yes, those things absolutely matter, but underneath all of it is a much simpler issue. It’s basic supply and demand. We have more people who need homes than we have homes available. When demand keeps growing and supply doesn’t keep up, prices go up. Doesn’t matter whether you’re selling houses or Taylor Swift tickets. (Off topic: did she buy Travis a fluffy white dog that matches her cats?? I really feel like I need to know this.)

Back on topic: we’ve been trying to fix affordability for years, but we’ve done it without really fixing supply. That’s a little like wondering why your bathtub keeps overflowing while refusing to turn off the faucet. So, I want y’all to look at that legislation as turning that faucet in the other direction.

How Does the ROAD Bill Work?

This bill cuts some of the federal red tape that slows residential construction. It encourages communities to make it easier to build housing. In addition, it modernizes rules around manufactured housing and updates several federal housing programs that frankly haven’t kept up with today’s market.

Basically, the bill reduces some of the friction around producing housing and everyone knows how passionate I am about reducing friction. While none of those changes are flashy or dramatic, they’re all aimed at the same goal: making it easier to build more places for people to live.

One provision that’s gotten a lot of attention here in Atlanta is the effort to put limits on how aggressively the largest institutional investors can continue buying single-family homes. If you’ve lived in metro Atlanta for any length of time, you’ve probably watched neighborhoods where ordinary families found themselves competing against billion-dollar investment firms making cash offers before the “For Sale” sign was even fully pounded into the ground. I’ve said for years that Bobby and Susie shouldn’t feel like they’re walking into the ring to fight Mike Tyson every time they want to make an offer on a starter home. This will help.

Bye-Bye Blackstone?

I want to be clear that this bill will not completely eliminate that problem. Institutional investors already own a boatload of homes. Nothing in this law changes that ownership overnight. However, it recognizes something that I’ve been talking about for years: when too much of the single-family housing supply ends up in the hands of a relatively small number of private equity owners, it becomes harder for families to build wealth through homeownership.

That’s particularly relevant in Atlanta because we’ve been one of the country’s fastest-growing housing markets for years. People continue moving here because we have great universities, strong employers, incredible restaurants, and—despite what my clients sometimes tell me when they’re stuck in traffic—a quality of life that attracts people from all over the country. That growth is wonderful for Atlanta, but that growth also creates pressure. Every time thousands of people move into a city, those people need somewhere to live. If builders can’t keep pace, prices naturally climb. That’s one of the reasons Atlanta has changed so dramatically over the last decade.

Listen, I don’t expect this bill to suddenly reverse that trend, but I do think it acknowledges something our industry’s known for a long time. We cannot solve affordability simply by hoping demand goes away. The answer has to include building more homes.

What Does It Mean for All of Us?

Now, if you’re a homeowner reading this and you’re worried this means your house is about to lose value, do not lose any sleep over this, okay? Healthy housing markets aren’t built on shortages forever, and they’re certainly not built on prices rising so quickly that the next generation can’t afford to participate. Real estate works best when buyers have choices, when sellers have confidence, and when people can move because life changes… and not because they feel trapped by the market. I feel like that’s an important distinction to make.

People often assume real estate agents want prices to go up forever because higher prices mean higher commissions. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you that’s not how I look at this business. I’d much rather have a healthy, balanced market where families can buy and sell with confidence than a market that swings wildly from one extreme to another.

The best real estate markets are predictable and sustainable. They’re places where teachers, nurses, entrepreneurs, young couples, retirees, and growing families can all find housing that fits their lives. Ultimately, this is healthier for neighborhoods, healthier for local businesses, and frankly, healthier for people like me whose careers depend on transactions actually happening.

The other thing I’d encourage everyone to remember is that housing moves slowly. Really slowly. Like, trying to turn the Titanic slowly. Even if every part of this law works exactly the way lawmakers hope, we’re talking about years, not months. Land has to be entitled. Financing has to come together. Roads and utilities have to be built. Houses have to be framed, wired, plumbed, inspected, landscaped, and finally sold. You know what? Let’s not say the Titanic because that story didn’t end well. Let’s say that real estate is more like steering a cargo ship. You turn the wheel right this minute, but you don’t see the full change in trajectory for a while. That’s why I wouldn’t make any major real estate decisions based on this bill alone.

If you’re ready to buy because your family has outgrown your house, buy. If you’re ready to sell because you’re relocating or downsizing, sell. If you’re waiting for some mythical “perfect” moment when every economic indicator lines up exactly the way you’d like, the God’s honest truth is that moment has never existed, and I don’t think it’s going to start now.

The biggest takeaway from this legislation is that leaders from both parties finally agreed on something I’ve believed for years: we need more housing, we need more choices, and we need to make it easier for ordinary Americans to achieve homeownership.

We aren’t at the finish line, not even close. But after years of mostly talking about the problem without putting forth any real solutions, it’s a solid step in the right direction and that should be celebrated.

GLENNDAISM

Today’s Words of Wisdom

GLENNDA BAKER & ASSOCIATES

A Gen X Jam

If you’re are not a child of the 1980s, you may not grasp exactly how great the name of the street on my new listing is. (You also won’t understand why some of us are losing our minds over the ESPRIT sweatshirts at Coscto, but again, I digress.) Regardless, this home at 4787 Electric Avenue SW in Mableton, GA, will appeal to any generation.

Tucked into one of the best spots in Willowcrest, this place checks all the boxes, whether it’s the open floor pan or the deluxe kitchen with a walk-in pantry and butler’s station. There’s the coveted first floor bed and bath for guests or multigenerational living and an upstairs layout that gives the primary suite the privacy it’s due. Neighborhood amenities make it easy to meet your neighbors and there’s close proximity to Vinings, The Battery, the Silver Comet Trail, and major commuter routes. This is the place where your next chapter takes your life higher.