Newsroom
Castro Details HUD Actions to Address Lead Poisoning
At a July 20 event hosted by the Center for American Progress (CAP), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro outlined steps HUD is taking to protect children from lead exposure, including developing procedures to contain lead hazards more effectively, improving lead-prevention policies, and partnering with other leaders and agencies to protect residents from lead poisoning. When asked why a lead problem still exists in 2016, Castro responded, "we have not dedicated the kind of resources that ought to be dedicated to the problem."
FHA Issues Guidance on Insuring Properties with PACE Assessments
On July 19, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued a mortgagee letter clarifying the conditions in which it will insure mortgages on properties that have Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) assessments.
Congress Passes Bipartisan Housing Assistance Reform Bill
Late yesterday, the Senate passed by unanimous consent H.R. 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA), to streamline and reform several federal housing assistance programs. While there was a Senate version of this bill, as NCSHA reported on June 23, Senate passage of the House-passed version expedites the process and now H.R. 3700 is headed to the President's desk to be signed into law.
Cantwell and Hatch Introduce Comprehensive Housing Credit Legislation
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on July 14 introduced S.3237, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016. This comprehensive bill builds on Housing Credit legislation the two Senators introduced together in May, S.2962 (also titled the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016).
Senator Wyden Introduces First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Bill
On July 13, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the First-Time Homebuyer Credit Act of 2016, S. 3175, which would provide a refundable tax credit for first-time home buyers.
HUD Secretary Supports Housing Credit, HOME, & Housing Trust Fund at House Committee Hearing
The House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing July 13 to examine recent changes HUD made in its Distressed Asset Stabilization Program (“DASP”), which pools delinquent Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single-family loans and sells them to investors, subject to requirements designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure while boosting HUD’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund.
Enterprise Report and Webinar Explore QAP Approaches to Cost-Effectiveness in Housing Credit Development
Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise) recently released Giving Due Credit: Balancing Priorities in State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Allocation Policies, which considers how state Housing Credit allocating agencies are advancing cost effectiveness while still developing and preserving affordable housing that is well-located, durable, sustainable, and connected to good schools, jobs, transit, and health care.
HUD Magazine Highlights HFAs’ Role in Supporting Affordable Lending
An article published in the spring 2016 issue of Evidence Matters, HUD’s quarterly research publication, highlights state HFAs’ track record of supporting sustainable and affordable homeownership lending for low- and moderate-income consumers. The article, entitled “Increasing Access to Sustainable Mortgages for Low-Income Programs,” examines HFA programs and similar initiatives administered by nonprofits that prove the viability of lending to creditworthy underserved borrowers.
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.
