Newsroom
HUD Report Finds Value in Housing Counseling
According to a new HUD report released June 29, home buyer education and counseling leads to improved mortgage literacy, greater appreciation for communication with lenders, and better underwriting qualifications. The report, The First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration: Early Insights, is based on a study of 5,800 low, moderate, and middle-income first-time home buyers across 28 metropolitan areas in the country.
USDA Issues FY 2016 Rural Voucher Notice
On June 29, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Housing Service issued a notice outlining policies and procedures for the Section 542 Rural Development Voucher Program (RDVP) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. The RDVP was established in 2006 and does not have regulations so this notice, issued annually, serves to inform the public of program funding and administration.
JCHS Releases 2016 State of the Nation’s Housing Report
On June 22, Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released The State of the Nation’s Housing 2016, its latest annual report on U.S. housing trends. While the report finds that the housing market continues to recover post-crisis, it highlights serious challenges, including all-time high renter cost-burdens, growing concentrations of poverty, falling homeownership rates, and tight mortgage credit. JCHS cites state efforts, including those by state Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs), to address these challenges but concludes that increased federal investment in affordable housing is also necessary.
House Republicans Unveil Tax Reform Blueprint
On June 24, the House Republican Tax Reform Task Force, chaired by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), released its blueprint for tax reform, A Better Way: A Pro-Growth Tax Code for All Americans. The blueprint is silent on both the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and tax-exempt bonds, including Housing Bonds, but declares that it would “generally eliminate special-interest deductions and credits in favor of providing lower tax rates for all businesses and eliminating taxes on business investment.” The only business credit the blueprint specifically calls for is a credit to encourage research and development (R&D) that is similar to the current R&D credit.
Bipartisan Housing Assistance Reform Bill Introduced in Senate
Yesterday, Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Robert Menendez (D-NJ) of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development introduced S. 3083, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA), to streamline and reform several federal housing assistance programs.
17 State HFAs to Receive HUD Counseling Grants for FY 2016
HUD announced today the recipients of more than $40 million in Housing Counseling program grants for fiscal year (FY) 2016. The funding will go to 234 different housing counseling agencies, including 17 state HFAs that combined will receive $6.7 million in grants.
NCSHA and Dept. of Energy to Hold Webinar for HFAs on DOE’s Home Energy Score
At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), NCSHA will be hosting a webinar for HFAs to discuss DOE’s Home Energy Score initiative. The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, June 28 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
House Republicans Release Plan on Poverty, Opportunity, and Upward Mobility
On June 7, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-OH) released an anti-poverty plan from the Republican Task Force on Poverty, Opportunity, and Upward Mobility (Task Force). This set of proposals is part of a larger agenda entitled A Better Way: Our Vision for a Confident America that Ryan and other Republican leaders hope will provide a blueprint for what they can accomplish under a Republican president.
Representative Jordan Introduces Bill to Eliminate Means-Tested Housing Programs
On May 26, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, introduced H.R. 5360, the Welfare Reform and Upward Mobility Act, which would prohibit Congress from funding means-tested housing programs and in their place create a single state block grant for housing activities.
Housing Industry Groups Ask Top Regulators to Resist Altering Fannie and Freddie Capital Requirements
Earlier today, several housing industry groups sent Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew identical letters asking them to maintain their current policy regarding Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's capital standards until Congress passes comprehensive housing finance reform.
GAO Releases Report on State Housing Credit Program Administration
Despite its title, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: Some Agency Practices Raise Concerns and IRS Could Improve Noncompliance Reporting and Data Collection, the report finds that states are administering the program in a manner largely consistent with federal laws and regulations, and in many cases, going above and beyond their requirements. The report is based on GAO’s review of all agencies’ 2013 Qualified Allocation Plans (QAPs) and site visits to and more extensive reviews of eight state agencies and one subrecipient agency.
HUD Proposes Broadband Infrastructure Requirement for Multifamily Housing
HUD published a proposed rule on May 18, Narrowing the Digital Divide Through Installation of Broadband Infrastructure in HUD-Funded New Construction and Substantial Rehabilitation of Multifamily Rental Housing that would require owners and developers of HUD-funded multifamily housing to install broadband infrastructure at the time of construction or if the property undergoes substantial rehabilitation.
