NCSHA Washington Report | October 13, 2023
The underlying theme of NCSHA’s Annual Conference & Showplace long has been “the best of HFAs.” The phrase alludes to the awards for HFA program excellence presented and the panel discussions of innovation and accomplishment in all areas of HFA activity that are annual centerpieces of the program.
They will be again this year in Boston, starting this weekend, when the state housing finance agency community comes together for its 52nd annual meeting — with more attending in person than ever before.
The phrase is also a reminder that HFAs are at their best when the conditions for housing access and affordability are the most demanding.
Our present moment qualifies.
Home mortgage interest rates are at a 23-year high, applications are lower than they have been since 1996, and the Black ‒ White homeownership gap exceeds 30 percent in 37 states.
A record number of low-income renters — more than 8.5 million — have federally-determined “worst case housing needs,” homelessness is rising in dozens of communities, and the national deficit of affordable homes is in the millions.
Everything, it seems, is more expensive than a few years ago: home mortgages and apartment construction loans, building materials and buildable land, insurance for single-family homes and multifamily developments.
As always, HFAs are responding with their quintessential creativity. More are issuing tax-exempt bonds to fund first-time home buyer mortgages at below-market rates and increasing down payment assistance, including through targeted “first-generation” and similar programs to address the largest market needs.
More are bolstering their multifamily financing by adding credit enhancements through FHA products or state insurance funds and bringing new financing partners, such as hospitals, to the table to fund new apartment construction.
More are advocating for and receiving funding from their states for rental housing construction and homelessness responses, often as part of unprecedented commitments by governors and state legislatures across the political spectrum, and tapping nontraditional federal programs for housing, such as Medicaid.
To be sure, HFAs aren’t immune from the factors buffeting our industry, as Fitch Ratings’ annual sectoral review out this week observes. Nevertheless, the Fitch analysis concludes, “HFAs remain well positioned to respond to continuing affordable housing needs that are not being met by the conventional market in the higher interest rate environment.”
These are far from the best of times in affordable housing. But state HFAs have rarely, if ever, been better.
Stockton Williams | Executive Director
Washington Report will return October 27.
State HFA Emergency Housing Assistance
Legislative and Regulatory Activities
- October 13 | Application Deadline | Federal Advisory Committee on Affordable, Equitable, and Sustainable Housing
- October 16 | Effective Date | IRS Additional Guidance on Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program
- October 16 | Comment Deadline | RHS Proposed Rule to Update Manufactured Housing Provisions
- October 30 | Application Deadline | Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing
NCSHA, State HFA, and Industry Events
- October 14 – 17 | NCSHA’s 2023 Annual Conference & Showplace | Boston
- October 23 – 24 | North Carolina Affordable Housing Conference | Raleigh, NC
Stockton Williams is speaking at this event. - October 24 – 26 | NAHMA Biannual Top Issues in Affordable Housing Fall Conference | Washington, DC
Jennifer Schwartz is speaking at this event. - November 7 – 8 | ProLink Technology Live 2023 | Virtual
Stockton Williams is speaking at this event. - November 16 – 17 | National Association of Home Builders Mortgage Roundtable | New York, NY
Stockton Williams is participating in this event.
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