On Housing Affordability: In Competitive States and Districts, Bipartisan Majorities Favor Going Further Than Newly-Enacted Law

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Jul 23, 2026, 09:00 ET

COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- While Democrats and Republicans in Congress recently came together to pass legislation addressing the cost of housing, new surveys in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive congressional districts shows that majorities of both Democrats and Republicans favor policies that go substantially further.

The recently-enacted law provides more tax incentives to build or repair affordable housing, which large bipartisan majorities favor, but they also favor the government investing tens of billions of dollars to help build more housing affordable to low- and middle-income households.

Large bipartisan majorities also favor the government providing an additional $24 billion in rental assistance for the very low-income, elderly and disabled. The new law does not include an increase in spending on rental assistance.

Under the new law, corporations are prohibited from owning more than 350 single-family homes, but bipartisan majorities in all competitive states and districts surveyed favor a more restrictive policy of prohibiting large corporations from owning any single-family homes.

The policy questions included in the survey were derived from federal legislative proposals.

Steven Kull, Director of the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation (PPC) noted, "While many of the proposals in the bipartisan legislation that just passed are consistent with the public's goals for housing, large majorities of Democrats and Republicans favor the government going much further in both investment and regulation."

Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? Survey Series

This release is the second in the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? survey series being conducted by PPC in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts in advance of the midterm elections.

Surveys on fifteen topics will be released on a rolling basis, covering over 100 specific policy questions. The policies – most of which are pending legislative proposals in Congress – have elicited bipartisan agreement nationally. PPC is exploring whether the same bipartisan common ground found at the national level exists in the battlegrounds. The results for all individual states and districts surveyed can be found here.

Providing Tax Credits to Build Affordable Housing

A proposal for the federal government to provide, "tax incentives to home builders to build or repair homes affordable to low- and middle-income households" – consistent with the new law – was favored by over two thirds of Democrats (77 to 93%) and Republicans (71 to 87%) in all competitive states and districts surveyed. Nationally, 88% of Democrats and 80% of Republicans were in favor.

Investing Billions to Build Affordable Housing

Unlike the recent law, two legislative proposals call for substantial federal investments in affordable high density housing (e.g. apartment buildings, duplexes and triplexes). Both proposals receive bipartisan majority support in all states and most districts.

For very low- and low-income households, investing $40 billion to increase high- density affordable housing supply is favored by 69 to 91% of Democrats. Among Republicans, majorities were in favor in all states and nearly all districts (52 to 81%), with divided views in two of the 28 House districts (49% favor). Nationally, 86% of Democrats and 64% of Republicans were in favor.

For low- and middle-income households, providing $25 billion to local governments to increase high-density affordable housing supply is favored by 77 to 91% of Democrats. Among Republicans, majorities were in favor in all states and nearly all House districts (58 to 77%). In two of the 28 House districts, slightly under half of Republicans were in favor (45 and 49%). Nationally, 84% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans were in favor.

Increasing Rental Assistance

Over three-quarters of Democrats (80 to 93%) and majorities of Republicans (58 to 83%) favored, "spending up to $24 billion to provide more vouchers to help people pay rent who are very low income, disabled or elderly." Nationally, 89% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans were in favor. The new housing law does not increase funding for rental vouchers.

Banning Large Corporate Ownership of Single-Family Homes

While the new housing law prohibits corporations from owning more than 350 single-family homes, large bipartisan majorities favored prohibiting large corporations from owning any: Democrats 76 to 89%, Republicans 64 to 86%. Nationally, 82% of Democrats and 77% of Republicans were in favor.

MORE INFORMATION

About the Surveys
The state and district surveys used for this analysis were fielded May 27 - June 25, 2026, to a total of 19,564 adults, including at least 600 in each of the 11 states, and at least 400 in each of the 28 congressional districts. The response rates were 7.1 to 9.0%. The confidence intervals range from +/- 2.9 to 7.6%, and the maximum weights range from 1.9 to 6.9.

The national survey was fielded March 11-19, 2026 with 1,200 adults nationally. The response rate was 8.3%. The confidence interval is +/- 2.9%, and the maximum weight is 1.9.

Sample was obtained from multiple online opt-in panels, including Cint, Dynata and Prodege. Sample collection and quality control was managed by QuantifyAI under the direction of the Program for Public Consultation. The surveys were offered in both English and Spanish.

The samples were pre-stratified and weighted by age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, household income, marital status, and home ownership to match the general adult population. The national sample was further weighted by Census region. Partisan distributions in each sample were within expectations, based on voter registration or Cook's Partisan Voting Index, or weighted to reflect those benchmarks.

About the Common Ground in the Battlegrounds? Survey Series

This series will include surveys in 11 competitive states and 28 competitive U.S. House districts and be released on a rolling basis between now and the mid‑term elections. Surveys will cover 15 topics and include over 100 specific policy questions.

The goal of this effort is to reveal the public's views – in competitive states and districts – focusing on policy questions that have elicited bipartisan agreement nationally. The project seeks to educate the public, policymakers, and candidates about the findings; and provide journalists with independent, nonpartisan research that brings the public into the conversation about public policy.

Project partners include the Program for Public Consultation (PPC), the Civic Innovation Center at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy (CivIC), and Voice of the People (VOP). None of these entities advocate for policy positions or endorse candidates.

Program for Public Consultation

The Program for Public Consultation (PPC), affiliated with the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, develops and conducts public consultation surveys, in which respondents are informed about and deliberate on policy solutions being proposed by elected officials, and give their recommendations. It seeks to improve democratic governance by consulting representative samples of citizens on key public policy proposals, and sharing its findings with officials in government, the media, other academics, and the general public.

Civic Innovation Center

The Civic Innovation Center (CivIC) at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy works to strengthen the foundations of civic health. It contributes to important debates about civic education, civic engagement, and needed democratic reforms in the state of Maryland and nationwide, in partnership with other BIG 10 universities. It works to build the connective tissue that brings together students, scholars and practitioners to help elevate the UMD community's contribution to our wider democracy.

Voice of the People

Voice Of the People (VOP) is a nonpartisan organization working to re-anchor our democracy in its founding principles by giving 'We the People' a greater and more effective voice in government. It champions innovative methods and technology that enable the American people to play a role in the policymaking process and provide policymakers with a more accurate understanding of the views of their constituents.

Contact: Jonathan Casaverde, (786) 469-9422

[email protected]

SOURCE Program for Public Consultation