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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently set new housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for 2018 through 2020. The FHFA is required by the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to set annual housing goals for mortgages purchased by Fannie and Freddie. The housing goals apply to multifamily mortgages, and there are three categories: low-income, very low-income home, and small multifamily low-income.
An op-ed by Sue Reynolds, president & CEO of Community Housing Works, and Matt Schwartz, president & CEO of California Housing Partnership, published in the San Diego Union Tribune notes that the adoption of last year’s tax reform legislation has weakened the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. The op-ed explains that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the top corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, which has reduced pricing and subsequent production for the H...
The Boston University Initiative on Cities recently released the results of its 2017 survey of 115 mayors of cities with at least 75,000 residents. The study was sponsored by Citi Community Development and the Rockefeller Foundation. The study found that 51 percent of the mayors surveyed identified housing costs as one of the top three factors that prompts residents to move away from their city. And only 13 percent of the mayors thought their city’s current housin...
Since President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, the price investors are willing to pay for LIHTC’s has dropped and may fall further because the new law reduced the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent starting in 2018. This change will sharply reduce the need companies will have for such tax benefits. However, since passage, some factors will help offset the expected lower demand for LIHTCs.
A recent study from the Urban Institute entitled, “The Relationship between Housing and Asthma among School-Age Children,” used data from the 2015 American Housing Survey (AHS) to explore connections between housing and childhood asthma. The study found that that renters with children are more likely than homeowners with children to report asthma triggers, like exposure to smoke, mold, leaks, and roaches or rodents, in their homes and to have at least one ch...
A new study entitled, “Unstable Housing and Caregiver and Child Health in Renter Families,” from Boston Medical Center’s Children’s HealthWatch program finds housing instability, including chronically late rent payments, can affect the mental and physical health of family members of all ages.
On Dec. 22, President Trump signed the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul legislation into law. Prior to the signing, House and Senate GOP leadership filed a conference report on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, reconciling the differences between the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of the bill. The House and Senate both approved the conference report and the House passed the bill by a vote of 227 – 203, with 12 Republicans and all Democrats voting against it. It passed...
The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University (JCHS) recently released its biennial rental housing study. The report finds that unprecedented growth in the rental housing market is slowing amid persistent affordability challenges for low- and moderate-income renter households. Fewer new renter households are being formed, rental vacancy rates have risen, and rent increases have slowed. However, at the same time, renter demographics are changing and rental a...
Since the publication of the Insider’s Special Issue detailing the House of Representatives’ tax reform bill, the House passed its version of tax reform legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, with a vote of 227 to 205. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act eliminates the tax exemption for private activity bonds, including housing bonds. Thirteen Republicans vote...
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation to renew and reform the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP’s authorization is set to expire on Dec. 9. During debate on the House floor, several Republicans expressed concerned that the bill would impose steep NFIP premium increases on their constituents. Many Democrats echoed these concerns, though 15 Democrats did vote to support the legislation. The legislation ultimately passed the Ho...
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