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NCSHA Washington Report | March 1, 2024

Published on March 1, 2024

NCSHA Washington Report

This week the White House made its seventh major announcement since September 2021 of multiple steps the administration is taking through various federal departments to increase home building and apartment construction. Taken together, the announcements and the follow-through by agencies across the government reflect an unprecedented consistency of focus and breadth of ambition to address America’s crisis in housing affordability at its root: an acute shortage of supply.

Through dozens of policy actions, administrative notices, and funding announcements over the past two-plus years, several themes emerge:

A holistic view of the problem and wide-ranging opportunities for federal solutions. The administration’s supply-side housing agenda has encompassed new and existing owner-occupied homes and rental apartments, including manufactured homes, small multifamily properties, public housing, and accessory dwelling units, as well as office and commercial property conversions to residential uses. At least 14 federal agencies have been involved.

A commitment to unleashing proven federal production programs. Six of the seven White House announcements so far have highlighted moves to strengthen the Housing Credit, through regulatory flexibility, more investment in credits from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and other measures. Critical single- and multifamily tools of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have been sharpened. This week’s headline was an indefinite extension of the FHA – Federal Financing Bank (FFB) Risk-Sharing program that will enable state and local HFAs to finance thousands of additional apartments. Long-awaited HOME program improvements are imminent as well.

An effort to undermine exclusionary local zoning. Recognizing that “reducing regulatory barriers to housing production has been a bipartisan cause in a number of states throughout the country,” the administration has rolled out incentives to encourage jurisdictions to remove obstacles to new development. Transportation funding programs have been the tip of the spear on this strategy, along with a new HUD program: Conditioning transportation grants on rational local housing policies may overcome NIMBYism, while linking transportation and housing funding should result in better land use.

One important White House pledge that still awaits fulfilling is its commitment from May 2022 to fix the unworkable rules blocking conversions of obsolete federal properties to housing for people experiencing homelessness, as authorized under the McKinney-Vento Act. NCSHA has provided workable revisions to the appropriate agencies, as have leading national advocates for the unhoused. With homelessness at an all-time high, and thousands of vacant federal buildings costing taxpayers billions, this one should be a no-brainer.

We’ll keep pushing for this reform, taking heart from the Biden – Harris Administration’s undeniable track record of results to date on its housing supply action plan and the White House’s statement this week that “the Administration will continue to lay out additional actions we are taking to lower housing costs and call on Congress to make the investments necessary to ensure access to quality and affordable housing for all Americans.”

Stockton-Williams-Washington-Report

Stockton Williams | Executive Director

Washington Report will return March 15.

In This Issue

NCSHA Welcomes New Members
NCSHA welcomed these organizations as Affiliate members in February: Economic Growth Corporation, Regional Housing Legal Services, and Vessel Technologies, Inc. If you work with a partner interested in becoming a member, please contact Phaedra Stoger.

White House Announces Extension of FFB Risk-Sharing Program
Yesterday, the White House announced a number of steps intended to boost supply of affordable housing, including an indefinite extension of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) – Federal Financing Bank (FFB) Risk-Sharing program, which provides ongoing capital for housing finance agencies to provide FHA-insured multifamily lending at reduced cost. NCSHA previously asked the administration for this extension and issued a statement on the White House announcement.

In addition to extending the FFB program, the announcement included a number of other steps the administration has taken or plans to take in the near future to promote the production and preservation of affordable housing, including a forthcoming proposed rule to streamline and modernize regulations governing the HOME Investment Partnerships program, a final rule published Wednesday increasing loan limits for the Title I Manufactured Housing program for the purchase or refinancing of manufactured homes, and a notice of funding opportunity for the preservation and revitalization of manufactured housing and eligible manufactured housing communities.

President Signs Continuing Resolution Funding HUD to March 8
Yesterday Congress passed and today President Biden signed short-term funding legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown that otherwise would have occurred at midnight today. The continuing resolution (CR) extends funding for the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, and others until March 8, while extending through March 22 funding for the rest of the federal government, which would have lapsed March 8 under the CR enacted in January.

HUD Extends HOTMA Compliance Dates
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published Notice H-2024-04 extending from March 31 to May 31 the deadline for owners of HUD-supported multifamily properties to update their tenant selection plans and income verification policies and procedures in light of the changes required by the Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act (HOTMA). This notice modifies Notice H-2023-10/PIH-2023-27, which previously established implementation guidance for Sections 102 and 104 of HOTMA, governing income reviews and asset limits for public housing and Section 8 programs, respectively.

FHFA Announces HTF and CMF Awards
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Thursday Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will provide approximately $301 million to the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and Capital Magnet Fund (CMF), compared to $545 million last year. The HUD-administered HTF will receive $196 million, compared to $354 million last year, and the Treasury-administered CMF will receive $105 million, compared to $191 million last year. Market conditions, particularly higher interest rates, continue to depress new mortgage activity, thereby reducing the Enterprises’ new business purchases, on which the annual HTF and CMF allocations are based.

HUD and VA Award $14 Million to Help Vets Find Affordable Housing
On Monday, HUD and the Department of Veterans Affairs announced they are awarding more than $14 million in HUD – Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers to 66 housing organizations, including Rhode Island Housing, South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority, and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. The HUD-VASH program combines rental assistance vouchers from HUD with supportive services like case management and clinical services provided by VA.

NCSHA in the News
The Real Deal, 2.24,24, Torres, Velazquez beg Biden to save affordable housing program
ABC 13 News Now, 2.22.24, Bill proposes up to $25K for some first-time homebuyers, but it hasn’t passed
CBS 10 TV, 2.22.24, Bill proposes up to $25K for some first-time homebuyers, but it hasn’t passed

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