Federal bill would open the door for Ohio housing reform
Last week, U.S. Congress sent the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to the White House for signature, the most significant piece of bipartisan legislation of President Trump’s second presidency and the largest housing affordability measure in a generation, though Trump is refusing to sign it.
The bill makes a number of policy changes to increase home supply like streamlining federal regulations, restricting institutional investors, and incentivizing local governments to lower housing barriers.
This follows an unprecedented rise in housing costs fueled by antiquated construction rules, underbuilding during the Great Recession, and rising inflation.
Though Ohio has enjoyed a relatively affordable cost of living for decades, the state has not been immune to these national housing trends.
The average Ohio house cost 65% more in January 2026 than it did in January 2020.
Without enough homes to meet the country’s growing demand, prices are going up and, with them, the median age of first-time homebuyers which now tops 40 years old.
But Ohio doesn’t just have a housing supply issue. It also has a housing choice issue.
Increasingly, buyers do not have the freedom to choose the type of home that best fits their family’s unique wants and needs, constrained by local zoning regulations that often ban historic housing styles.
In Ohio, only 3% of all homes are duplexes which Dr. Jason Reece, professor of City and Regional Planning at the Ohio State University, has called America’s “original workforce housing” because of their natural affordability and power to build family wealth through sweat equity.
These so-called “missing middle” homes — duplexes, triplexes, and small townhomes — previously played a crucial role in expanding homeownership opportunities to middle-income families.
In the past, a young family that purchased a duplex could use their spare unit to generate extra rental income. They could also offer decent housing to family members at the start of their career or in their twilight years. This not only kept expenses low but also made family caregiving easier.
In theory, this path to the middle class is still possible.
In a recent analysis my firm Scioto Analysis conducted with the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, we estimated a typical family can now earn or save nearly $1.3 million over a lifetime through duplex homeownership. And that doesn’t include the value fo the equity that the home itself builds over time.
But Ohio families can only benefit from a duplex if they can find one.
We also mapped the zoning code rules in all eleven of central Ohio’s counties and estimated that duplexes were prohibited on 79% of all parcels.
In some communities, including those facing intense job growth pressures, they’re banned entirely.
This isn’t just a problem in Ohio.
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Read more: https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/07/08/federal-bill-would-open-the-door-for-ohio-housing-reform/