- May 1, 2012
NCSHA's 2012 Legislative Conference concluded on Wednesday, April 25 with a special tribute to an affordable housing champion and an update from HUD. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) was honored by MassHousing Executive Director Thomas Gleason, NCSHA Executive Director Barbara Thompson, and all in attendance. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan praised Frank for his service and gave attendees an update on HUD's plans and priorities going forward. Charles Coulter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing, and Marie Head, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing, delved deeper into HUD's affordable housing policies.
- April 30, 2012
On April 25, the Senate Finance Committee held a tax reform hearing focused on exemptions that benefit states and localities, including tax-exempt bonds. In a letter to Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT), NCSHA urged the Committee to continue the federal government’s support and commitment to tax-exempt bond financing in recognition of the critical role it plays in the ability of state governments to fund national priorities.
- April 26, 2012
The IRS has published Rev. Proc. 2012-25, which provides the nationwide average purchase price limits and the average area purchase price safe harbors for the Mortgage Revenue Bond and Mortgage Credit Certificate programs.
- April 26, 2012
It’s a pleasure to join so many representatives from our nation’s Housing Finance Agencies. Whether it’s providing affordable mortgages to low- and moderate-income families or expanding access to affordable rental housing, HFAs have always been a critical partner.
- April 25, 2012
On the second day of NCSHA's 2012 Legislative Conference, Housing Finance Agency (HFA) staff and other affordable housing advocates continued their efforts to tell Congress to stand strong for housing. In the morning, attendees received a Washington update from political prognosticator Charlie Cook, learned the latest tax, banking, and spending news from key congressional staff, and heard insights on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Acting Director Edward DeMarco of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
- April 24, 2012
On April 23, NCSHA's 2012 Legislative Conference kicked off with addresses from Idaho Housing and Finance Association President and Executive Director and NCSHA President Gerald Hunter, NCSHA Executive Director Barbara Thompson, the Department of Treasury's Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Mary Miller, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission Co-Chair Former Senator Christopher Bond, and a panel of housing industry experts.
- April 23, 2012
On April 23, Mary Miller, the Department of Treasury's Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, spoke to attendees at NCSHA's Legislative Conference regarding the HFA Initiative, the Hardest Hit Fund, and other partnerships with HFAs.
- April 2, 2012
According to a report released on March 26 by Standard & Poor's (S&P), state HFA single-family program credit ratings have stabilized after a tumultuous period of market difficulties. Due to their quality oversight, prudent lending practices, new financing strategies, and the extension of the Temporary Credit and Liquidity Program (TCLP), S&P believes that HFAs will not see further rating declines on bonds backed by single-family housing loans.
- March 27, 2012
On March 8, HUD posted a notice of Web Availability and Request for Comments on its Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). Since then, HUD has held several webcasts to discuss aspects of HUD’s RAD program.
- March 1, 2012
Under this proposed program, HFAs could choose to use some of their private activity bond cap to issue taxable bonds and receive a direct subsidy from the federal government to cover a portion of the HFA’s bond interest costs.
