Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a bill Tuesday that loosens zoning requirements around public transportation to allow for the construction of apartments and condominiums. Each project must set aside 10% of the units for affordable housing and 20% for workforce housing, based on the area median income.

Two lawmakers want federal agencies to collaborate more closely to further homeownership efforts. Senator Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona, partnered with Senator Dave McCormick, Republican of Pennsylvania, on a bipartisan bill that would compel the U.S. departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs to share housing-related research and market data to boost efficiency and "evidence-based policymaking."

The three departments would be required to submit a report within 180 days of the bill's enactment on how they can increase collaboration. The document would be published on the Federal Register and open to public comment.

“Addressing the housing affordability crisis in this country requires a whole-of-government response. But right now, the federal agencies that deal with housing aren’t working together as efficiently as they should,” Gallego said. “I’m glad to work across the aisle to introduce this commonsense legislation to ensure veterans and rural communities get the housing support they deserve.”

Inflation weighs heavily on many consumers and professionals, but one economist feels hopeful. On Tuesday, Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors' chief economist and senior vice president of research, said economic conditions showed a slowdown in inflation, a promising indicator for the Federal Reserve to cut rates.

"Fed rate cuts with high inflation will not result in lower mortgage rates," Yun said in a statement. "However, rate cuts because of falling inflation will mean meaningfully lower mortgage rates."

Yun said housing remains the “jumbo heavyweight of inflation.”

“Getting shelter costs under control with more housing supply, and not via disastrous rent control, will be the key to getting overall inflation fully tamed and for the Federal Reserve to ‘normalize,' which in my view means four to six additional rate cuts,” Yun said.

The National Association of Realtors has blessed a federal spending gameplan that includes housing-related projects and initiatives.

"This draft language preserves or strengthens a raft of provisions vital to housing affordability, including making the current lower-income tax brackets permanent," Shannon McGahn, NAR executive vice president and chief advocacy officer, said in a statement.

McGahn said she approves of making the current lower income tax brackets permanent and tripling the current state and local tax, or "SALT," deduction limits. House Republicans want to raise the limit on tax deductions to $30,000 for households earning up to $400,000, a change from the current $10,000 limit.

The House Ways and Means Committee published the proposal Monday.