With a housing bill of historic proportions moving through Congress, the U.S. is experiencing a rare, bipartisan moment of momentum on housing affordability. “We cannot let this opportunity go by to secure the most important piece of housing legislation we’ve had in this country in a generation,” said Enterprise CEO Shaun Donovan.
Donovan spoke during the keynote plenary session at Urban Land Institute’s national housing conference in Baltimore last month. Moderated by ULI Chief Impact Officer Aimee Witteman, the session explored what it will take to translate widespread agreement about the housing crisis into real production, preservation, and long-term affordability.
Joining Donovan on stage were Eden Housing President Linda Mandolini, Jamal Raad of Welcoming Neighbors Network, and Senthil Sankaran, principal of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund.
Preceding the session, Wells Fargo Foundation Head of Housing Access and Affordability Sarah Bainton Kahn announced the 2026 Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge. Enterprise will continue to manage the national innovation competition advancing proven, scalable solutions, now in its third cycle.
“Wells Fargo has been an amazing partner on the challenge,” said Donovan. “And this is exactly where Enterprise should be playing a role – lifting up and helping scale what’s working on the ground in communities nationwide.”
Framed as “A Conversation on Abundance,” the ULI session drove home why the housing sector must act collectively, swiftly, and strategically to maximize this major inflection point for housing affordability.
1. The momentum on housing policy is real — and unprecedented.
The U.S. is experiencing alignment on housing that “we haven’t seen in a very long time,” said Donovan. He pointed to the overwhelming bipartisan House (390-9) and Senate (89-10) passage of the sweeping 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and the earlier expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the largest such increase in more than 25 years.
If we don't get this one, we're not going to get the next one and the next one after that.
Donovan said bipartisan support for the housing bill spans the spectrum from civil rights advocates seeking to expand where families can choose to live, to conservative governors reforming single-family zoning in the name of property rights. This “strange bedfellows coalition,” he said, is what makes the moment unique and politically advantageous.
2. Policy remains both the biggest bottleneck and the greatest lever.
During the plenary’s opening “pulse check,” Whitman asked panelists to choose the biggest obstacle to increasing housing supply. Donovan said all the options played a role — financing and capital, construction costs, and neighborhood opposition — but stressed that policy offers opportunities to counteract these constraints.
Donovan underscored that states are playing a major role on the policy front. Reforms to parking requirements, ADU laws, and environmental review are advancing nationwide, and demonstrating that states can move quickly to unlock production at scale.
Federal, state, and local policy must work in concert, he said. Once bills are passed, practitioners are key to ensuring reforms roll out in ways that yield real housing affordability gains.
3. Operating costs threaten long-term affordability.
One of Donovan’s most urgent calls to action centered on the “sleeper threat” of operating costs. He cited examples from Enterprise’s own Mid-Atlantic housing portfolio: insurance premiums that tripled in a single renewal cycle, utility costs up 25% annually, and rising energy demands driven in part by hyperscale data centers.
If these trends continue, many affordable housing projects will simply no longer pencil. Ensuring homes are built to last and remain affordable means embracing resilience improvements, distributing renewable energy generated on rooftops and carports, and advancing state-level insurance interventions already emerging in places like Florida.
4. Capacity is the critical ingredient for many communities.
A growing number of states and localities are enacting major housing reforms and dedicating billions in funding. Technical capacity is critical to ensuring effective implementation. If reforms do not translate into visible improvements, Donovan cautioned, political momentum could evaporate.
That’s why, he said, Enterprise is committed to helping state and local governments build needed capacity and bring the right partners to the table.
5. Innovation — and scaling innovation — is essential to meeting the moment.
Referencing the newly announced Breakthrough Challenge, Donovan highlighted the importance of identifying replicable innovations that can move from pilot to policy. He stressed the value of ideas that merge affordability, sustainability, and cost-efficiency — especially given the intertwined crises of housing supply, rising insurance costs, and escalating energy costs.
Donovan framed innovation not as a luxury but a necessity for ensuring that reforms deliver real affordability and meaningful change.
6. The sector must seize “first wins” to build broader momentum.
Early, achievable victories are key, he said, pointing to Enterprise’s own Faith-based Development InitiativeSM, which has helped propel the YIGBY movement — “Yes in God’s Backyard.”
These strides can serve as political and community levers that open the door to larger reforms, explained Donovan. They build the trust needed to pursue more difficult changes, particularly in places where housing debates remain highly polarized or technically complex.
7. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity — and the field must not let it pass.
Donovan urged practitioners to mobilize behind the most consequential federal housing legislation in a generation, stressing that success now will shape the likelihood of future wins.
He called on the room to leverage local influence, professional networks, and on the ground expertise to help push the bill over the finish line.
“If we don’t get this one,” he said, “we’re not going to get the next one and the next one after that.”
