Washington is once again wrestling over power, and this time housing affordability is right in the spotlight. As talk of divided government and tougher debates on spending, oversight and cost of living grows louder, some investors are quietly reassessing which affordable housing and residential REIT stocks could sit closer to the action. This article unpacks that political story and profiles 3 stocks from the screener that appear most exposed to these shifting currents.

The stocks profiled below are just a starting sample. The full screen surfaced 11 more U.S. affordable housing and residential REIT companies with equally compelling policy and fundamentals driven narratives that are not covered here. To identify, compare and analyze those additional residential opportunities in detail, head straight into the U.S. Affordable Housing & Residential REITs screener.

Millrose Properties (MRP)

Overview: Millrose Properties is a residential focused REIT that provides permanent capital and land banking solutions to homebuilders and developers, helping unlock new single family and multifamily projects that can support affordable and workforce housing supply. By acquiring and financing residential land and delivering finished homesites just in time, Millrose lets builders keep balance sheets lighter while pushing more housing stock into the pipeline.

Operations: Millrose generates all of its approximately $761 million in revenue from its U.S. REIT commercial segment.

Market Cap: $5.0b

Millrose Properties gives you exposure to the housing affordability theme at the capital level, where decisions on which projects get funded can directly influence how much new stock reaches buyers and renters. The stock ties its fortunes to homebuilding activity through long term, land backed structures. Recent deals in multifamily and build to rent show how it can plug into both ownership and rental supply. At the same time, high leverage, board turnover and a dividend that is not fully covered by earnings are important pressure points to watch. For investors who want to go deeper into how Millrose is positioned if Washington leans harder into pro housing policy, there is more to unpack in its funding model, builder relationships and policy sensitivity.

Millrose Properties is tying permanent capital to housing supply in a way many investors may be glossing over. Before you decide how it fits in your portfolio, read the full 5 key rewards and 2 important warning signs

Build your own affordable housing shortlist around Millrose Properties

Millrose Properties and the other two stocks in this article all came out of a single screener, but your edge comes from tailoring the search to what matters most to you. Use our Screener to mix filters like valuation, growth, balance sheet strength, dividends and risks into your own watchlist, or tap into our curated Investing Ideas for ready made starting points.

Howard Hughes Holdings (HHH)

Overview: Howard Hughes Holdings develops large scale master planned communities across the United States, bringing together housing, retail and offices in single long term projects that can add meaningful new residential supply. For an investor focused on affordability and housing availability, Howard Hughes offers direct exposure to the land, infrastructure and multifamily components that sit behind new neighborhoods rather than just individual buildings.

Operations: Howard Hughes generates its approximately US$2.4b in revenue entirely in the United States, with about US$1.1b from Strategic Developments, US$701 million from Master Planned Communities, US$474 million from Operating Assets and the remainder from segment adjustments and corporate items.

Market Cap: US$3.9b

Howard Hughes Holdings may appeal to investors who want exposure to the housing supply story but prefer a platform that controls entire communities rather than a pure multifamily REIT. Recent revenue and net income figures tied to master planned communities and condominium sales illustrate what this model can produce when demand and project timing align. At the same time, a large undeveloped land bank, a move into an insurance platform and significant use of external funding create questions around execution, balance sheet flexibility and how much capital ultimately remains focused on housing. How these trade offs balance out is central to the overall investment case.

Howard Hughes Holdings ties housing supply, retail and offices into single long term communities that many investors may only see at the surface. To understand how its land bank, funding and insurance move really fit together, start with the 5 key rewards and 3 important warning signs (1 is major!)

Safehold (SAFE)

Overview: Safehold is a U.S. REIT that focuses on ground leases under high quality properties, including multifamily and affordable housing, which helps developers free up capital to get more rental projects built. By owning the land beneath buildings and collecting long term ground rent, Safehold aims to offer property owners a different funding option while giving investors exposure to income tied to residential and other real estate types.

Operations: Safehold generates all of its approximately $436 million in revenue from acquiring, managing and capitalizing ground leases in the United States.

Market Cap: $1.1b

Safehold offers a more direct way to gain exposure to housing affordability than many traditional REITs, because its ground leases directly underpin multifamily, affordable and rental projects that local governments seek to support. Recent deals in California and Texas funded hundreds of LIHTC backed affordable units, and the Brookfield joint venture provides additional scale behind that model. Q2 2026 results reflect a business with revenue in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The trade off is that dividend coverage is thin, all liabilities are funded through external borrowings and earnings growth is not forecast to run ahead of the wider market, so changes in policy or interest rates can have a meaningful impact. The full Safehold story lies in how investors weigh the affordable housing exposure against those balance sheet and dividend risks.

Safehold’s affordable housing ground leases could be masking a much bigger story about income resilience and policy linked demand. Get the full picture in the 4 key rewards and 2 important warning signs (2 are major!)

Seeking Fresh Alternatives Beyond Housing?

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.