NCSHA Blogs
Federal Reserve, FHFA Provide More Liquidity to Ailing Markets
On Monday morning, March 23, the Federal Reserve announced a number of significant moves to provide liquidity to U.S. markets. The Federal Open Market Committee will purchase Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities in the amounts needed to support smooth market functioning and effective transmission of monetary policy to broader financial conditions and the economy.
ACTION Urges Congress to Act Now to Extend Housing Credit Deadlines, Set Minimum 4 Percent Rate in Response to COVID-19
On March 18, the ACTION Campaign, a coalition of more than 2,300 organizations and businesses across the nation co-chaired by NCSHA and Enterprise Community Partners, released a statement calling on Congress to extend, by one year, three key Housing Credit deadlines required under the statute. These deadlines will be difficult, if not impossible, for many properties to meet given the slowing pace of development due to the COVID-19 crisis.
NCSHA Recommends Substantial Changes to HUD’s Proposed Rewrite of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule
On March 16, NCSHA submitted comments to HUD on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) proposed rule the department released earlier this year. The proposed rule, if implemented, would be a major departure from the previous AFFH final regulations that HUD published in 2015, significantly reducing HUD’s expectations of grantees’ AFFH obligations.
New NLIHC Report Examines the Nation’s Affordable Rental Unit Shortage
According to "The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes" — a new report published this week by the National Low Income Housing Coalition — the United States had a shortage of 3.6 million rental homes affordable for extremely-low-income renters in 2018.
Secretary Carson Testifies on Administration’s FY 2021 Budget Request in Senate Subcommittee Hearing
HUD Secretary Ben Carson Wednesday appeared before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies to discuss the Trump Administration’s FY 2021 HUD budget request.
HUD Seeking Tribal Leader Consultation on Planned DPA Regulations
HUD recently posted a letter the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing sent to Tribal Leaders on February 14. The letter, issued in accordance with HUD’s Government-to-Government Tribal Consultation Policy, requests feedback on regulatory changes HUD has been planning to issue for some time on using downpayment assistance in conjunction with FHA single-family mortgage insurance.
Trump Administration’s FY 2021 Budget Proposes Significant Cuts to Federal Housing and Community Development Programs
On February 10, the Trump Administration sent Congress its Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Budget request, “A Budget for America’s Future.” The $4.8 trillion budget outlines the Trump Administration’s fiscal priorities for the coming year, including eliminating several key federal affordable housing and community development programs and arguing that states and local governments are “better positioned to comprehensively address the array of unique market challenges, local policies, and impediments that lead to housing affordability problems.”
Progressive House Members Release Affordable Housing Platform
Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) has been joined by other progressive House members — Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) — in releasing a framework for addressing the affordable housing crisis, which the authors call the People’s Housing platform. The platform contends that housing is a human right and federal affordable housing policy has been insufficient to address housing needs. It prescribes numerous steps the federal government should take to invest in affordable housing.
U.S. Faces Growing Rental Affordability Challenges According to New Harvard Report
On January 31, Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released its 2020 edition of “America’s Rental Housing” report. The new report shows that, despite slowing demand and continued strength of new construction, rental markets in the United States remain extremely tight. According to JCHS, vacancy rates are the lowest in decades, the number and share of cost-burdened renters are again on the rise, and the number of people experiencing homelessness is also increasing. These conditions mark significant market changes since the Great Recession, including an influx of higher-income households, constraints on new supply, and substantial losses of low-cost rental units.
NCSHA Recommends Regulatory Reforms of Housing Programs to Trump Administration
On January 31, NCSHA submitted comments to the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing recommending specific steps the Departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, and Treasury can take to streamline and improve federal housing programs. These actions would lead to more affordable housing production with reductions in cost and administrative burden.
