Can Congress tackle housing affordability?

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report – March 13, 2026

Episode Theme:
This episode spotlights three interconnected economic stories: slowed U.S. GDP growth and stickier inflation, a bipartisan effort in Congress to boost affordable housing amid political disagreement, and implications of China’s new five-year economic plan for U.S. and global industries.

---

1. Revised U.S. GDP Growth and Rising Inflation

Guest: Christopher Lowe, Chief Economist at FHN Financial
Segment: [01:00–03:08]

Key Discussion Points

• GDP Growth Revision
  • The Bureau of Economic Analysis sharply reduced its estimate of U.S. economic growth for the last quarter, from an already weak 1.4% to just 0.7%.
    • Main culprits: Weaker consumer spending and reduced business investment in structures, equipment, and intellectual property.
    • Context: Government shutdowns reduced public sector business, affecting private sector sales.
  • Quote (Christopher Lowe, 01:20):
    “Half of that growth is now gone. It was revised to 0.7%. The biggest downward revision came from consumption. The other big downward revision was business investment in structures, equipment and intellectual property.”
• Inflation Measures Show Worrying Trends
  • January’s PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) inflation came in higher than expected: core PCE up 3.1% year-over-year, the most since January 2024.
  • PCE deemed more accurate than CPI for current inflation tracking, showing divergence since November.
    • Implication: This increase “raises eyebrows at the Fed.”
  • Quote (Christopher Lowe, 02:19):
    “Core PCE inflation was up 3.1% from a year ago. That’s the highest year on year rate since January of 2024.”

---

2. Can Congress Tackle Housing Affordability?

Guest: Nancy Marshall Genzer, Marketplace Reporter
Segment: [03:55–05:45]

Key Discussion Points

• Senate’s Bipartisan Affordable Housing Bill
  • A rare bipartisan Senate bill aims to address the shortage of affordable housing by:
    • Easing supply constraints, including:
      • Relaxing rules around factory-built (manufactured) housing—ending requirement for steel chassis, making construction cheaper and more flexible.
      • Streamlining bureaucracy: Mandates interagency coordination on environmental reviews (Agriculture + HUD).
      • Encourages pre-approved housing designs to “speed things up.”
    • Crafted by Sen. Tim Scott (R) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D).
  • Key moment (Sabri Benishour, 04:53):
    “Today, the average age of a first-time home buyer is 40—40 years old—before you ever experience the American dream?”
• Trouble Ahead in the House
  • House Republicans object to investor restrictions in the bill:
    • Proposes that institutional investors who build and rent single-family homes must sell them after seven years.
    • Limits investor ownership to 350 single-family homes.
  • Political roadblock: President Trump vows not to sign any housing bill unless Congress first passes and sends him a voter ID bill.
  • Quote (Nancy Marshall Genzer, 05:14):
    “Some House Republicans say that would limit construction. And President Trump … has said he won’t sign any legislation until Congress first passes and then sends him a voter ID bill.”

---

3. China’s Five-Year Economic Blueprint and Its Global Implications

Guest: Logan Wright, Partner at Rhodium Group
Segment: [05:47–09:37]

Key Discussion Points

• China’s Next Economic Priorities
  • New five-year plan focuses on “strategic industries”:
    • Battery technologies for EVs and storage
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Semiconductors
    • Advanced robotics
  • These are aspirational: not yet a large share of Chinese GDP.
  • Quote (Logan Wright, 06:16):
    “They want to ensure that they remain at the center of global supply chains in what they consider sort of the new strategic industries of the future.”
• Export Expansion vs. Global Competition
  • With limited domestic demand, China may rely on increasing high-tech exports—a cause for concern for U.S. and European policymakers.
  • “If China cannot generate domestic demand … the only way they can really grow is by increasing their share of global exports, which by necessity forces disinvestment and reductions in capabilities overseas.” (Wright, 07:27)
• Why the U.S. Cares About China’s Domestic Consumption
  • If China doesn’t buy its own products, it floods world markets, lowering prices and hurting foreign industries.
  • Quote (Logan Wright, 08:21):
    “If there’s not corresponding growth in domestic consumption, that basically guarantees that those products will be exported—most likely at lower prices—which ends up undermining profit margins and employment in several industries around the world.”
• U.S. Policy Response
  • U.S. should focus on its own domestic investment and protection:
    • Industrial policy, tariffs, and other non-tariff barriers suggested as defenses.
  • Quote (Logan Wright, 09:00):
    “The answer to policies that drive disinvestment abroad is to invest. And the U.S. has turned to domestic investment and alternative capabilities … You need to protect those domestic investments through combinations of policy measures.”

---

Memorable Quotes

• Christopher Lowe on GDP:
  • “Half of that growth is now gone.” (01:20)
• Christopher Lowe on Inflation:
  • “Deteriorating inflation is the kind of thing that raises eyebrows at the Fed.” (02:19)
• Nancy Marshall Genzer on Senate Housing Bill:
  • “The bill says factory built housing no longer needs a steel chassis which allows it to be moved.” (04:21)
  • “Some House Republicans say that would limit construction.” (05:14)
• Logan Wright on China’s goals:
  • “They want to ensure that they remain at the center of global supply chains in … strategic industries of the future.” (06:16)
  • “That basically guarantees that those products will be exported… undermining profit margins and employment… around the world.” (08:21)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:00] – U.S. GDP growth revised down; inflation concern (Christopher Lowe)
• [03:55] – Senate’s bipartisan housing affordability bill; House opposition (Nancy Marshall Genzer)
• [05:47] – China’s five-year plan and global economic impact (Logan Wright)

---

This episode delivers a brisk, nuanced update on the state of the U.S. economy, legislative wrangling over affordable housing, and the high-stakes global race in technology accelerated by China’s ambitions.

Transcript

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game, shifting a little money here, a little there and hoping it all works out well? With the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help find you options within your budget. Try it [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law not available in all states.

[Grainger Announcer]

If you work in university maintenance, Grainger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip off. And Grainger is your trusted partner, offering the products you need all in one place, from H VAC and plumbing supplies to lighting and more. And all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock. So your team always gets the win. Call 1-800-GRAINGER visit grainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.

[Sabri Benishour]

Oops. We revised it again. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Ben, ashore in for David Brancaccio. The US Economy didn't grow nearly as fast as initial estimates suggested. The Bureau of Economic Analysis revised GDP growth down dramatically. Christopher Lowe's chief economist at FHN Financial, New York. Chris, how bad was it?

[Christopher Lowe]

Yeah, it was already weak. Remember when GDP was reported late because of the shutdown? It was only up 1.4%. Well, half of that growth is now gone. It was revised to 0.7%. The biggest downward revision came from consumption. The other big downward revision was business investment in structures, equipment and intellectual property. The private sector does a lot of business with the public sector. That's probably weakness in sales. That would have gone to the government had it been open throughout the quarter.

[Sabri Benishour]

Earlier this week we got one reading of inflation, the Consumer Price Index. It was kind of stable year over year. Today we got a new reading of inflation and it looks like inflation got worse, at least in January. How significant is that?

[Christopher Lowe]

It's a big deal. This is the PCE deflator. That is the deflator for personal consumption expenditures. It's viewed as a more accurate inflation reading. And the reason it's a big deal that it diverged in January is because it has been divergent since November. The reading this morning, core PCE inflation was up 3.1% from a year ago. That's the highest year on year rate since January of 2024. So deteriorating inflation is the kind of thing that raises eyebrows at the Fed.

[Sabri Benishour]

Chris Lowe is chief economist at FHN Financial. Thank you.

[Christopher Lowe]

Thank you, Sabri.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game, shifting a little money here, a little there and hoping it all works out well? With the name your price tool from Progressive, you can be a better budgeter and potentially lower your insurance bill too. You tell Progressive what you want to pay for car insurance and they'll help find you options within your budget. Try it [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates Price and coverage match limited by state law, not available in all states.

[Sabri Benishour]

The Senate passed a bipartisan bill yesterday to ease the shortage of affordable housing. But it has a tough road ahead in the House and possibly the White House. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer joins us now with the details. Morning, Nancy.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Good morning.

[Sabri Benishour]

So the bill focuses on increasing the housing supply. So for example, easing restrictions on manufactured housing. What does that mean exactly?

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

The bill says factory built housing no longer needs a steel chassis which allows it to be moved. The legislation also tries to cut red tape. For example, it tells the Agriculture Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development to coordinate environmental reviews. And it tries to generally speed things up by encouraging pre approved housing designs. The bill was written by the Banking Committee chair, Republican Senator Tim Scott and the ranking member, Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Here's Scott.

[Sabri Benishour]

Today, the average age of a first time home buyer is 40, 40 years old. Before you ever experience the American dream? Yeah, but this bill still has to be approved by the House. And there are a few provisions that House members do not like. What don't they like?

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Yeah, there are some restrictions on institutional investors. So investors could build single family homes and rent them out, but they'd have to sell them after seven years and they wouldn't be allowed to own more than 350 single family homes. Some House Republicans say that would limit construction. And President Trump Sabri has said he won't sign any legislation until Congress first passes and then sends him a voter ID bill.

[Sabri Benishour]

All right, Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genser, thank you so much.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

You're welcome.

[Sabri Benishour]

This week China released its latest economic blueprint for the next five years. And anything that China has planned for itself affects the rest of the world. So let's get into it with Logan Wright. He's a partner at the Rhodium Group. Good morning.

[Logan Wright]

Good morning, Sabri.

[Sabri Benishour]

China's five year plans, one aspect of them is to lay out the industries that China wants to dominate. What are the industries China has its eye on this time around that we should be paying attention to?

[Logan Wright]

I mean, I think that what China's interested in is developing industrial capabilities that can enhance the productivity of, you know, their broader manufacturing base. And they want to ensure that they remain at the center of global supply chains in what they consider sort of the new strategic industries of the future. So that includes battery technology for electric vehicles, for battery, electric storage, that includes artificial intelligence, that includes semiconductors, that includes robotics, advanced robotics for manufacturing, and there's several others as well. You know, these industries within China are not really that large as a proportion of their economy right now. So it's very aspirational.

[Sabri Benishour]

If China wants to grow these, these high tech sectors that are not actually a huge part of their economy yet, does that not mean it's going to have to sell more to the rest of the world? And does that not mean that U.S. attempts to advance in these sectors could be a challenge?

[Logan Wright]

That's correct. And that's exactly what U.S. policymakers and European policymakers and should be watching very carefully. Because if China cannot generate domestic demand in the same proportions as they are generating in domestic investment, if they remain an investment led economy that is already the world's largest exporter, then the only way they can really grow is by increasing their share of global exports, which by necessity forces disinvestment and reductions in capabilities overseas.

[Sabri Benishour]

One goal in this five year plan and a goal that has been in previous five year plans has been to boost domestic consumption, get China to buy more of its own stuff. That is something the US has long wanted China to do. Can you explain why we care whether China is buying more of its own products or not?

[Logan Wright]

Because if China's has a very large trade surplus and is continuing to grow, grow primarily through domestic investment, if there's not corresponding growth in domestic consumption, that basically guarantees that those products will be exported most likely at lower prices, which ends up undermining profit margins and employment in several industries around the world, including in the United States.

[Sabri Benishour]

If you're the US right now, you see China's roadmap to become more self sufficient to dominate high tech. What do you do?

[Logan Wright]

I think the answer to policies that drive disinvestment abroad is to invest. And the US has turned to domestic investment and alternative capabilities. And you need to protect those domestic investments through combinations of, you know, with different policy measures for, via industrial policy and to a certain level of domestic protection which includes tariffs as well as other sort of non tariff barriers.

[Sabri Benishour]

Logan Wright, Partner at the Rhodium Group. Thank you so much.

[Logan Wright]

Thank you Sabri.

[Sabri Benishour]

In New York, I'm Sabri Benishour with the Marketplace Morning report. From APM American Public Media.

[Marima Reyes]

Maybe you've had this thought before. What if I turn this hobby into a side hustle? Attempting to turn painting into income may have been the worst idea I've ever had. I'm Marima Reyes, and this week on this Is Uncomfortable. The pressure to monetize what we love. Can we turn our passion into a paycheck without killing the joy? Listen to this Is Uncomfortable. Wherever you get your podcasts,