Newsroom
Financial Services Subcommittee Considers Private Sector Participation in Affordable Housing
On April 16, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing on “The Future of Housing in America: Increasing Private Sector Participation in Affordable Housing”. The hearing focused broadly on HUD programs that have the potential to leverage private dollars and featured four witnesses: Adriane Todman, Executive Director at the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA); Brad Fennell, Senior Vice President of Washington, DC area property management company WC Smith; James Evans, Director at Quadel Consulting Services; and Sheila Crowley, President and CEO at the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC).
Bipartisan Coalition of House Members Express Support for Municipal Bond Tax Exemption
More than 120 members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed onto a letter last week urging House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to reject proposals that would eliminate or diminish the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.
NCSHA Advocates Preserving and Strengthening Housing Credit and Housing Bonds in Statement to Finance Committee Working Group
On April 15, NCSHA submitted the attached statement to the Senate Finance Committee’s Community Development & Infrastructure Working Group in support of preserving and strengthening the Housing Credit and Housing Bonds. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) established the Community Development & Infrastructure Working Group and four other Working Groups—each comprised of members of the Finance Committee—to analyze current tax law and examine policy trade-offs and reform options. Among other issues, Hatch and Wyden charged the Community Development & Infrastructure Working Group with housing tax issues, including the Credit and tax-exempt bonds.
FHFA Directs Fannie and Freddie to Keep G-Fees at Current Level and Drop Adverse Market Charge
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced April 17 that it has determined that the guarantee fees (g-fees) that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge lenders in exchange for insuring single-family mortgage loans should generally stay at their current level. However, the agency directed each firm to make targeted adjustments to its fees, including eliminating the upfront adverse market fee for new single-family loans and increasing the g-fees for loans with secondary financing.
20 State HFAs to Receive HUD Counseling Grants for FY 2015
HUD announced today the recipients of just over $34 million in Housing Counseling program grants for fiscal year (FY) 2015. The funding will go to 270 different housing counseling agencies, including 20 state HFAs, who combined will receive just over $6 million in grants. HUD also released a list of counseling agencies that were awarded funding and a comprehensive summary of each grant awarded.
HUD Establishes Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee; Seeks Nominees
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it will be establishing the Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee (HCFAC). The Committee, which was authorized under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, will advise HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling (OHC) about how it can best utilize its resources to provide more borrowers with HUD-approved counseling services. The notice also solicits nominations for individuals to serve on HCFAC.
State HFAs Highlighted in TAC’s Report on Innovative Strategies in Financing ELI Units
On April 9, the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) published Creating New Integrated Permanent Supportive Housing Opportunities for ELI Households: A Vision for the Future of the National Housing Trust Fund.
HUD Releases Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Fee Study
HUD released its Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Fee Study earlier this week, marking the first time that HUD has collected empirical data on the actual costs to administer the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program.
Rep. Ellison Introduces Mortgage Interest Deduction Reform Bill
Last week, Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced H.R. 1662, the Common Sense Housing Investment Act, which would replace the mortgage interest deduction with a 15 percent flat rate tax credit on interest paid on mortgages up to $500,000. The tax credit would be available to all homeowners, regardless of whether they claim the standard deduction or itemize their tax deductions.
NCSHA Urges Congressional Leaders to Maintain Tax Exemption for Municipal Bonds
Last week, NCSHA joined 50 other organizations in sending a letter to leaders of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate urging them to oppose eliminating or diminishing the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. The letter was spearheaded by the Don’t Mess with our Bonds Coalition, a coalition comprised of state and local government associations, including NCSHA, which is dedicated to protecting the tax-exemption for municipal bonds, including private activity bonds. The signatories comprise a broad array of governmental and private stakeholders.
Ed Golding to Replace Biniam Gebre as FHA Head
HUD announced yesterday that Biniam Gebre, the Acting Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Housing, will leave his position with FHA on April 7. Ed Golding, who currently serves as a senior advisor in HUD’s Office of Policy and Development of Research and has been deeply involved in the Administration’s housing finance reform policy development process, will replace Gebre as head of FHA.
FHFA Issues Final Rule on GSE Allocations to Housing Trust Fund
Yesterday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a final rule establishing certain requirements regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s contributions to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund (the Funds). Specifically, the rule would prohibit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from trying to recoup their allocations to the Funds by passing along the costs to loan originators, and sets a framework by which FHFA will enforce this prohibition. The final rule is identical to an interim final rule FHFA proposed in December.
