General News

The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) has released the draft 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and a summary of proposed changes to the plan.

The National Housing & Rehabilitation Association has announced eighteen finalists in seven categories for this year’s “Timmy Awards,” which will be presented at an awards luncheon and ceremony on November 15 in Boston, Massachusetts in conjunction with the association’s Annual Fall Developers Forum.

HUD’s Economic and Market Analysis Division has prepared Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis for the Tyler and El Paso, Texas market areas.

HUD recently announced Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Seattle as the cities to receive the first grants under the new Choice Neighborhoods Initiative which aims to transform distressed neighborhoods into sustainable mixed-income communities. These grants are meant to build upon the successes of HOPE VI which provided support for the rehabilitation and preservation of public and HUD-assisted housing in order to better approach concentrated poverty.

A new report released by HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research titled “Memphis Murder Revisited: Do Housing Vouchers Cause Crime” examines the link between the presence of Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) holders in a neighborhood and crime.

Responding to this need for better coordinated Federal rental policy, the White House’s Domestic Policy Council established the interagency Rental Policy Working Group in 2010.

The White House’s Rental Policy Working Group (a joint effort between the White House, HUD, the IRS and USDA RD) has issued its preliminary administrative alignment recommendations.

Missouri’s state legislature recently advanced a bill that modifies provisions of existing tax credit programs in a manner consistent with the recommendations of the Tax Credit Review Commission and establishes new tax incentive programs.

The Center for Housing Policy has released a new guide that focuses on strategies and policies to improve overall housing affordability by reducing both housing and transportation costs. The guide features five policy sections which can each be adopted in order to assure housing is affordable to families of all incomes in areas with ample and reliable transportation options.

The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) will hold two public hearings regarding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Draft 2012 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) where participants will be able to provide input on and discuss proposed changes to the document.

The Colorado Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) Tax Credit Committee recently completed Round Two of its 2011 LIHTC competitive allocation process.

The Reznick Group recently launched a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Interactive Map and Online Mapping Tool which will help potential NMTC program participants determine eligibility of planned or existing projects or business.