The American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025 seeks to significantly improve housing affordability and equity across the United States. It proposes substantial federal investments and reforms to address housing shortages, discriminatory practices, and wealth disparities.

Title I focuses on making housing more affordable through several key mechanisms. It establishes a Local Housing Innovation Grant program, authorizing $2 billion annually for five years, to incentivize states and local governments to reform restrictive land use policies, such as by promoting by-right development, accessory dwelling units, and inclusionary zoning. This title also mandates significant appropriations for existing affordable housing infrastructure, including the Housing Trust Fund, Capital Magnet Fund, Public Housing Capital Fund, and various Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Rural Housing programs, totaling tens of billions of dollars. Furthermore, it creates a Middle Class Housing Emergency Fund with $4 billion for competitive grants to state housing finance agencies to construct or acquire affordable rental and for-sale units, and to implement tenant protection measures. The bill also introduces new conditions for the sale of real estate-owned properties and non-performing loans by federal entities like FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, prioritizing sales to owner-occupants and non-profits for affordable housing, while also implementing robust loss mitigation and anti-predatory resale rules.

Title II aims to reverse the legacy of housing discrimination and government negligence. A new Down Payment Assistance Program for first-time, first-generation homebuyers would provide grants up to 3.5% of a home's value to eligible individuals earning up to 120-140% of the area median income. This title also establishes a Formula Grant Program for communities with an appraisal gap, allocating $5 billion to states to help homeowners with negative equity, pay down arrears, or rehabilitate vacant properties, thereby stabilizing neighborhood values. The bill significantly strengthens the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) by expanding its scope to include nonbank mortgage originators and holding companies, broadening assessment areas, and requiring financial institutions to develop community benefits plans. It also introduces deductions from CRA credit for financing fossil fuel expansion, while crediting investments in climate resiliency for underserved communities. Additionally, it facilitates credit union service to underserved areas and raises public welfare caps for national and state member banks, allowing them to invest more in projects benefiting low- and moderate-income communities. Finally, it temporarily extends VA home loan guarantee eligibility to direct descendants of certain deceased veterans who were first-time, first-generation homebuyers.

Title III focuses on removing barriers that isolate communities. It expands rights under the Fair Housing Act by explicitly adding protections based on "actual or perceived" race, color, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), marital status, source of income, and veteran status. This title also seeks to improve outcomes in housing assistance programs by requiring public housing agencies to conduct location analyses and regional planning to increase access to higher-opportunity areas for voucher holders, and by facilitating the formation of public housing agency consortia.

Title IV addresses estate tax reform to help fund these initiatives. It proposes to increase estate tax rates to 55-65%, reduce the basic exclusion amount to $3.5 million, and impose a 10% surtax on estates over $1 billion. The bill also introduces stricter rules for grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), applies transfer taxes to grantor trusts under certain conditions, and eliminates the generation-skipping transfer tax exemption for transfers to certain distant beneficiaries. Furthermore, it limits valuation discounts for family-controlled entities and nonbusiness assets, and imposes a new surcharge on high-income estates and trusts. To balance these changes, it also increases the special use valuation limit for farm real property and the estate tax exclusion for land subject to conservation easements.

Finally, Title V mandates accessibility requirements, doubling the number of accessible dwelling units required in housing projects receiving federal assistance under this Act.