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Your clients are going to hear about the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Some will assume it changes everything immediately. Others will worry it will disrupt the market. Many won’t understand it at all — but they’ll expect you to. The goal of today’s Zebra Report isn’t to help you quote legislation; it’s to help you explain the value of what’s changing and how it affects buyers, sellers, investors, and neighborhoods.
The ROAD to Housing Act addresses many issues. Today I want to focus on five parts that will be most visible to your clients and impactful on your market.
Many communities have seen large institutional investors absorb entry level homes at a pace that squeezed out traditional buyers. The ROAD Act introduces new limits and reporting requirements for high volume single family acquisitions. Here’s what that means for your:
This is one of the act’s biggest changes, and its effects on the market will unfold over the long term.
Lower priced homes – like older properties, rural homes, and manufactured homes – often fall outside traditional lending priorities. The ROAD Act’s small mortgage pilot programs aim to fix that by simplifying underwriting and encouraging lender participation. For many clients, this means loans for modest homes should become easier to obtain, faster to process, and more widely available.
This supports first time buyers, rural buyers, and sellers in neighborhoods where financing has historically been a barrier. It’s one of the most practical improvements in this legislation.
In many counties, home prices have outpaced FHA loan limits. The ROAD Act updates those limits to better match local realities. That means FHA buyers will have access to homes that were previously out of reach.
This affects which homes qualify for FHA, how competitive FHA offers become, and which neighborhoods open up to first time buyers. It’s an immediate improvement in buyer power.
Creating more ways for people to reach housing is good, but we also need more homes. The ROAD Act approaches this issue in meaningful ways, from zoning to permitting reform and more. One section focuses on manufactured housing, which has long been one of the most affordable paths to ownership, but inconsistent financing and regulatory hurdles have limited its potential. The ROAD Act includes measures that bring manufactured housing closer to the mainstream. This means financing should become clearer and more consistent, making manufactured homes a stronger and more reliable option.
This matters for affordability, rural markets, infill development, and communities with aging housing stock. Agents who understand these changes will be able to guide clients toward opportunities they may have overlooked.
The ROAD Act expands down payment assistance programs aimed at renters and first time buyers who can afford monthly payments but struggle with upfront costs. More first-time buyers will qualify for help with their down payment, and some will qualify for more help than before.
This is a powerful part of this act that will directly impact households trying to cross the gap from renting to owning.
Buyers and sellers will ask whether they should delay their plans until the ROAD Act fully takes effect. The honest answer is best: these changes will roll out gradually, and today’s buy-or-sell decision should still be based on their needs, financial readiness, and local market conditions — not on waiting for legislation to reshape the economy. The good news is that the ROAD Act moves housing in a positive direction, but its benefits will unfold over time, not overnight.
By Denise Lones CSP, CMP, M.I.R.M.The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones has over three decades of experience in the real estate industry. With agent/broker coaching, expertise in branding, lead generation, strategic marketing, business analysis, new home project planning, product development and more, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.