Realtor.com, Zillow and Builders Push to Let America Build. What More Supply Would Mean in San Diego and Chicago

The industry is lobbying for more homes. According to Chicago Agent Magazine, Realtor.com, Zillow, the National Association of Home Builders and other industry groups have teamed up behind "Let America Build," a campaign urging officials to use the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to streamline how new homes get approved and built. Realtor.com first launched the effort at SXSW in 2025.

Listing portals and builders rarely line up behind the same public campaign. Their shared message is simple: the country has not built enough housing, and the process of getting homes permitted is a big part of why.

The fine print sits at city hall. Federal legislation can open a door, but the campaign targets officials for a reason. Zoning, permitting timelines and review processes are set city by city and county by county. So any payoff will look very different in San Diego than in Chicago.

In San Diego, buildable land is scarce, boxed in by the ocean, the mountains and protected open space. New supply here tends to come from infill: townhomes, small-lot projects, accessory dwelling units and density near transit. Faster approvals would help most at the entry and move-up tiers, where inventory has been thinnest for years. For owners of established coastal and luxury homes, added supply elsewhere in the county is unlikely to change what makes a well-located property scarce.

Chicagoland has a different problem. The suburbs have more room to build and the city has more existing housing, but construction costs and approval timelines still shape what gets built and where. Streamlining could bring more new homes to close-in suburbs. That would give buyers more choices and put some healthy pressure on resale homes that need updating.

What buyers and sellers should take from it. For buyers, this story will take years to play out. Campaigns and policy changes are slow to become finished homes, so waiting for a wave of new inventory is not a plan for the next year or two. For sellers, the lesson is about positioning. As newer homes come online, resale properties compete with modern floor plans, energy efficiency and builder warranties. Condition, pricing and presentation matter more when a buyer can tour a new build down the street.

Our team follows local permitting and project pipelines closely in both markets. If you want to know what is planned near a home you own or are considering, we are glad to walk you through it.