General News

The Obama administration has announced a new initiative for state and local housing finance agencies (HFAs) that will support lower mortgage rates and expand resources for low-income borrowers to rent or purchase affordable housing.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Policy Development and Research arm, HUD USER, has released Comprehensive Housing Market Analyses for the Dallas, Texas and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada market areas.

NH&RA announced today that a rare assemblage of five state allocators from adjoining Midwestern states will be a highlight of the Annual Meeting of the National Council of Affordable Housing Market Analysts (NCAHMA) at Chicago’s Doubletree Hotel on November 9 and 10.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has released a series of housing policy documents and rules, including the draft 2010 qualified allocation plan (QAP), for administering its affordable housing programs.

The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) has released a revised set of proposed regulation changes to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act programs and tax credit program tiebreaker.

The Arkansas Development Finance Authority has released its Tier Three application for 2009 tax credits, HOME funds, TCAP and Exchange program funding.

U.S. lawmakers from the House and Senate have agreed on a compromise version of H.R. 2997, which provides funding levels for rural housing programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for fiscal year 2010.

National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) has sent a letter to Congressional Leaders seeking provisions to strengthen the Housing Bond and Credit programs.

HUD’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has proposed a new rule that would conform multifamily mortgage insurance regulations to a provision in Title VIII of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 that prohibits a requirement that tax credit sales proceeds be placed into escrow, at the time of initial endorsement, for assurance of project completion and to pay the initial service charge, carrying charges, and legal and organizational expenses incident to the construction of the project.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued a proposed rule that would modify the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) multifamily mortgage insurance regulations to prohibit a requirement that proceeds from the sale of tax credits be placed in escrow at the time of initial endorsement for assurance of project completion and to pay the initial service charge, carrying charges, and legal and organizational expenses related to project construction.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is requesting public comments and feedback by November 6 to determine whether it should continue its “hold harmless” policy by maintaining local Section 8 income limits at the previously published level in cases where HUD’s estimate of area median family income or housing cost adjustment data, or changes in calculation methodology, would lead to a reduction in the income limit from the previous year.

The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has proposed changes to the Low-Income Housing Credit Program Qualified Allocation Plan, the regulation which set forth many of the parameters under which DHCR administers the federal tax credit program and selects projects for funding.