Michael Smolens: Congress takes a big swing at housing — will it matter in San Diego?

Led by San Diego, California has been roaring ahead when it comes to efforts aimed at facilitating more housing.

Congress, not so much — perhaps until now.

The House and Senate have overwhelmingly passed bipartisan bills ultimately aimed at making homes more affordable, or at least making it easier to build them. The Senate will now consider a measure combining provisions of the bills.

Approval of the final product seems likely in both houses, though there’s never a guarantee. But from President Donald Trump on down, elected officials in Washington have been talking about the need to do something about housing for some time, but don’t have a lot to show for it.

Further, they’re hungry to tackle the issue of “affordability,” perhaps the buzziest word in this election season, as the cost of living and broader economic worries are at the forefront of voters’ minds. The cost of housing tops the list for many.

If passed, what is now being called the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream) may be the most sweeping housing legislation from Congress in decades.

The big bill comes with big caveats, though. It would not affect prices soon (if much at all eventually) because its main goal is increasing the housing supply, which, as we know from local and state incentives, takes time. Also, it may have little noticeable impact in San Diego.

That’s largely because the city of San Diego has been ahead...