Signal · what's moving in federal housing

Where housing policy meets institutions and markets, and where decisions shape housing outcomes.

Policy toproduction.

I bring a national coalition together to solve one specific problem: making sure housing policy actually builds the homes our communities need. As the Founder & CEO of Up for Growth, I lead our federal efforts to turn the vision of housing abundance into reality.

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Mike Kingsella

Founder & CEO, Up for Growth

How I Work

Between what gets written and what gets built.

Federal housing policy often assumes the system will respond predictably when funds are appropriated, programs are created, or mandates take effect. That assumption rarely survives contact with the real world: policy is made in one place; housing gets built in another.

Between enactment and groundbreaking stand construction costs, capital markets, local approvals, and labor. Any one can stop a project before it is financed, approved, or built.

That is where I work. I identify the decisions that move capital, where projects stall, and what it takes to turn policy into homes. At Up for Growth, we work with policymakers, industry leaders, and advocates to address those constraints so federal action translates into homes people need.

Where the work shows up
01
When the deal isn't the questionWhen housing policy gets written, whether the deal will pencil is rarely the question on the table. Homes get lost in that gap, and so do the families waiting on them.
02
When capital sits outCapital moves on risk and return, not good intentions. When policy doesn't change those numbers, capital sits out, and a family that needs a home doesn't get one.
03
When the unit count misleadsEvery home built too far from jobs, or priced beyond what people can pay, is a policy failure. The unit count can climb while the families who need those homes remain no closer to one.
04
When unlikely allies move a billHousing reform passes when a chamber of commerce, a hospital, and a teachers' union all back the same fix, even though none is in the housing business. That breadth is what gets homes built and puts families within reach of them.
Recent Work

Writing, remarks, and coverage.

All writing & appearances →
June 23, 2026 WRITING | ARTICLE
The $546,000 Door
Chris LaGrand and I explain why Build America, Buy America lands hardest on affordable deals, where capped rents and fixed awards leave added costs nowhere to hide.
BricksBucksProcess Housing SupplyAffordabilityConstruction CostsFederal Policy
Read April 14, 2026 MEDIA | ARTICLE
Housing Shortage Isn't Just a Money Problem
Politico examined how federal housing policy aimed at limiting institutional investors may be constraining capital and slowing new housing production, raising concerns about unintended consequences for supply.
Bucks Federal PolicyFinancing & CapitalBuild-to-RentHousing Supply
Read April 2, 2026 MEDIA | PODCAST
Build to rent is collateral damage
I joined The Rent Roll to explain how the Road to Housing Act's BTR provision froze capital, why the seven-year sell rule is unworkable, and what Congress should fix
BucksLandPoliticsProcess Housing SupplyFinancing & CapitalBuild-to-RentFederal Policy
Read
Newsletter

Home-
frontA read from inside the arena.

Homefront is my read on the federal housing policy debate: what's moving, how it moves through the housing system, and what it means for the homes people are counting on. Each issue follows one live move so you can see where it's headed before it's settled.

Homefront returns September 29. New issues publish every other Tuesday.

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Recent Issues
All issues →
HOMEFRONT | NO. 4
A win, not the win
Homefront briefing on the House's 396–13 passage of the ROAD to Housing Act, the build-to-rent fix it delivered, and whether the Senate will keep it.
BucksPolitics Federal PolicyHousing SupplyFinancing & CapitalBuild-to-Rent
Read
HOMEFRONT | NO. 3
The fix is on the table
Homefront briefing on Section 901, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and the targeted fix needed to protect new housing production.
Bucks Federal PolicyHousing SupplyFinancing & CapitalBuild-to-Rent
Read
HOMEFRONT | NO. 2
The market isn't waiting
Homefront briefing on federal housing policy, market behavior, and what uncertainty means for what gets built.
Bucks Federal PolicyHousing SupplyFinancing & CapitalBuild-to-Rent
Read
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My read on what federal housing decisions mean for what gets built, and for the people counting on it.

Every other Tuesday. Free. Just the brief.