EVERETT — President Trump raised eye-brows when he refused to sign a bipartisan Congressional bill in late June geared toward reducing housing costs but an Everett real estate broker tells EverettPost.com, that several of the law’s provisions would have negligible impact locally.
Congress passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with overwhelming bipartisan majorities. The U.S. Senate passed the bill 85-5 on June 22, 2026, and the U.S. House of Representatives followed suit by passing it 358-32 on June 23. President Trump then refused to sign the housing bill at an Oval Office ceremony when he demanded that Congress pass a voter identification and proof of citizenship to vote bill known as The SAVE America Act. The SAVE America Act passed the House but remains stalled in the Senate. The bill, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID for federal elections, fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. House leadership now plans to attach it to a budget reconciliation bill to bypass the filibuster.
Trump’s refusal to sign the ROAD to Housing Act would be moot after 10 days when it would automatically become law. Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, delivered the bill to the White House on June 29. Therefore the 10-day window to automatically become law without the President’s signature would be this Friday, July 11. You can track the official legislative status and actions on the Congress.gov website.
The bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act would do the following:
- Prohibit large institutional investors (i.e. hedge funds) that own more than 350 single-family homes from purchasing additional single-family homes.
- Help local governments convert vacant commercial or industrial buildings into affordable housing units;
lowering barriers in the way of developing manufactured, modular housing, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs); - Remove restrictions in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to allow cities and local governments, for the first time, to fund new subsidized housing construction.
- Reauthorize and expand the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the largest federal block grant designed exclusively to create and preserve subsidized housing for low-income households.
- Create a renter complaint hotline and resource center for reporting, monitoring and resolving renter disputes with large institutional investor landlords among other technical provisions for federal bureaucracy.
Kevin Wick, designated broker for John L. Scott Metro Realty in Mill Creek, Everett, and Lake Stevens tells EverettPost.com that he doesn’t see an inordinate amount of hedge fund activity gobbling up local homes right now. “I haven’t seen any purchase and sales come through our office that has any of these hedge funds on it,” Wick begins before adding, “but it doesn’t mean they haven’t been there. I definitely know they’re in our market. I don’t know at what level. I haven’t run any numbers to see which percentage of them are actually being consumed by hedge funds.”
A more immediate factor for local home buying (and sales), Wick says, is inflation which ultimately affects interest rates. “We’ve seen a decrease in the median sales price year over year, but it’s just a minor (drop), like one or two percentage points. And I think the main effect is just the demand has softened just because interest rates have risen over the last couple months”, Wick points out with the spike in energy prices due to the Iran conflict and impact on oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz on the Arabian Peninsula.
“Inflation’s been a major contributing factor,” Wick asserts, “to the reason interest rates have continued to go up and be on the higher end of things. It’s because usually mortgage interest rates follow the 10-year treasury, which the 10-year Treasury has been high just because, we’ve seen inflation numbers actually, I think it’s the highest right now that has been in three years, which is disappointing but it is what it is when you have an energy crisis going on.”
Wick notes that with the recent ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran oil commodities prices have started to fall with the resumption of oil tankers passing the Strait of Hormuz but interest rate relief will still be months away if stability holds. “If you look at current numbers with the price of oil going down so dramatically over the last couple weeks, I imagine the inflation numbers will start to look better, but it takes time to rebound from that. And that’s why we haven’t seen immediate gratification at the gas pumps right now.”
That gratification is directly connected to the home buying and selling market, Wick says, “So, I think that the overall spring (sales) market has been delayed because of the uncertainty in the (Iran) war, which could give us a stronger, end of summer towards the fall as well, depending on what interest rates do. That’s why we’ve seen softening in the overall market continue throughout this year.”
“We’ve got a high demand in our area,” Wick relays, “just from all the job growth that we’ve experienced over the years. And I know there has been a softening in the market that has definitely affected values over the last couple months.”
Another major point of the Congressional bill still waiting to become law is converting empty commercial or retail space to housing. Wick addressed that angle saying, “I don’t think Everett has a high volume of empty spaces. I don’t know what the actual vacancy number is, but I don’t see it having a major impact in the Everett area. I think it could have an impact in the Seattle metro area, but not so much the Everett area.”
The expansion of accessory-dwelling units, known in real estate parlance as ADUs, is also a main part of the unsigned Congressional bill but Washington law has already established an emphasis on increasing ADUs to bolster housing supply, Wick says the city of Everett has just updated their ordinances on that, “I think it’s having a positive impact already, and this is something that was state mandated that all cities participate in which Everett has definitely run with that, and they’ve definitely restructured their zoning to effectively increase the inventory of entry-level homes that are viable that allow people to get into a new construction, entry-level property in the Everett area.”
Everett real estate agent, Brandice Raybourn, with Coldwell Banker Danforth reports for June transactions, “Everett continues to be one of the stronger markets I’m tracking this month. The overall Everett market remained strong during June, although we’re beginning to see signs of a more balanced market compared to May.”
Raybourn writes, “inventory increased from 409 active listings in May to 443 in June. Homes are taking a little longer to sell, and sellers are accepting slightly more negotiation than they were in May. But here’s what caught my attention: despite all of that, Everett still closed 156 homes during June and put another 174 homes under contract. That’s a lot of activity.
Pending sales slipped slightly from 181 to 174, but closed sales actually increased from 142 to 156. Even more interesting, 54 listings never made it to the closing table at all during June. Thirty-seven listings were canceled and another 17 expired. That tells me buyers are still active, but they have become increasingly selective. The homes that are priced well and marketed well continue to sell. The homes that miss the mark are having a much tougher time. Compared to many of the other markets I’ve analyzed this month, Everett still feels remarkably healthy.
Sellers also accepted slightly more negotiation this month, receiving an average of 99.4% of their original asking price compared to 100% last month. The median sales price increased from $597,500 to $635,000. As always, changes in the mix of homes sold can influence median prices, so this doesn’t necessarily mean home values increased by the same amount.”
Additionally, Raybourn posted in May, these reminders if you’re in the market to buy or sell. Buyer tip: Pay attention to how fast homes are moving in your price range before you start touring. If you’re in that under 850K range, you need to be ready before you even walk in the door. That means knowing your numbers, understanding what you’re comfortable offering, and not waiting until after you see the home to figure it out. If you’re in the higher ranges, slow down a little. You likely have more room to think, compare, and negotiate than it might feel like at first glance.
Seller tip: If your home is not getting attention right now, don’t assume it just needs more time. The homes that are priced and positioned right are getting picked up quickly. The ones that aren’t are sitting, and buyers are noticing that. Take a step back and look at your competition honestly. Because in this market, timing isn’t the issue most of the time positioning is.