General News

Smart Growth America recently published a report entitled “Federal Involvement in Real Estate: A call for examination”, to look at the effectiveness of various federal real estate investment programs and determine how well these programs influence development.

Nebraska State Senator Jeremy Nordquist recently introduced the Nebraska Job Creation and Mainstreet Revitalization Act (LB 191), which would create a state historic rehabilitation tax credit for historic, income-producing properties in Nebraska.

Today Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley announced he has proposed $25 million for the Rental Housing Works (RHW) program in his FY 2014 budget. The RHW program is a gap financing program for projects funded using DHCD’s Multifamily Bond Program (MBP); RHW applications are submitted in conjunction with a MBP application.

The Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA) has announced Jacob Sipe as its new executive director, effective as of January 14, 2013.

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) released two reminders to previous tax credit recipients. All 2011 low-income tax credits recipients of 9% competitive credits must submit documentation to demonstrate the progress of the project and its continuing feasibility in order to meet the Final Reservation criteria.

At his recent State of the State address, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York State will significantly increase its affordable housing investment with a $1 billion program to preserve or produce 14,000 affordable housing units over the next 5 years.

HUD recently released a Federal Register Notice to solicit comments on the Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contracts (SPRACs) awards processes. The Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act of 2010, signed into law in January 2011, authorizes HUD to provide SPRACs with 20-year terms to prevent displacement of elderly residents of certain projects assisted under HUD’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program in the case of refinancing or recapitalization and to further preserve and maintain affordability of Section 202 Direct Loan projects.

Following the passage of The American Taxpayer Relief Act and the resulting extension of the 9 percent credit rate to allocations made before January 1, 2014, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency has announced that low-income housing tax credit applicants may use the 9% credit rate in its estimations for their 2013 housing tax credit amount. OHFA also announced the gap financing resources that will be available to applicants in 2013

The Virginia Housing Development Authority has made corrections to its 2013 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Reservation Application and updated its Rural Development Priority list.

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) has released a final list of its proposed substantive changes to the 2013 tax credit program regulations. CTCAC initially released its list of 23 proposed changes on October 24, 2012. After holding four public hearings and collecting public comments, CTCAC plans to proceed with nine of the originally proposed changes and amend 14 of its original proposed changes.

The Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs has released several updates for its multifamily housing programs.

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund has announced they are currently reviewing applications submitted for the 2012 NMTC allocation round, which were due September 12, 2012. The agency estimates that the 2012 awards will be announced in April 2013.