Nushin Huq • 8 min read
Low-income housing property managers are plowing through a backlog of maintenance work and resuming unit inspections to prepare for the return of in-person inspections by The Real Estate Assessment Center, or REAC, at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in June.
Scott Beyer • 6 min read
Texas is well-known for its fast growth, yet ability to stay affordable. The state has a mostly elastic housing market (of the 50 largest U.S. metros, four of the top 12 in permitting rates are in Texas).
Scott Beyer • 7 min read
Odd as it sounds given the events, the U.S. property market had a banner year in 2020, and its upward streak continues. The Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures single-family home prices, is up 12 percent since February 2020.
Thom Amdur • 5 min read
It has been a momentous few months for the affordable housing community. After a bumpy presidential transition, there has been a flurry of positive activity from the Biden administration and 117th Congress. The enactment of American Rescue Plan of 2021 provides much-needed financial support for affordable housing renters at a critical moment. Our champions in Congress have reintroduced the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and Historic Tax Credit Growth and Opportunity Act with expanded scopes that would dramatically enhance and expand the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit if enacted.
Mark Fogarty • 7 min read
A troubling spike in lumber prices may not break until later this year, as a badly out-of-whack supply and demand equation continues to roil the construction industry.
Paul Connolly • 3 min read
While COVID-19 may be accelerating design and construction changes in multifamily housing in the near term, larger market forces are at work and will influence how homes are built over the longer term, speakers at the National Council of Housing Market Analysts (NCHMA) said at the NCHMA Spring Meeting last month.
Scott Beyer • 6 min read
Wood-frame high-rise construction may soon become commonplace in the United States. The International Code Council (ICC), which develops a model building code, recently approved mass timber construction of up to 18 floors.
Scott Beyer • 5 min read
Energy efficient construction (EEC) is a focus area for cities and states as they move to reduce carbon emissions – after all, current buildings account for nearly 40 percent of such pollution. In many jurisdictions, developers—and consumers, to whom costs are passed down—must contend with building code changes that call for more EEC.
Thom Amdur • 4 min read
America has a long and complicated legacy of discrimination and racism, dating back more than 400 years to when the colonists of Jamestown brought slavery to our shores, through the Jim Crow era to today.
Mark Fogarty • 3 min read
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program has a couple of new provisions that should enhance conversion opportunities, attendees of the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association’s annual meeting heard.
Mark Fogarty • 7 min read
Design can help play an important role in mitigating rising affordable housing insurance premiums, attendees of a recent National Housing & Rehabilitation Association town hall heard.
Scott Beyer • 6 min read
In early March, NH&RA held its annual meeting, a three-day symposium on all things housing, finance and tax credits. As part of the meeting and ongoing efforts in the industry, the meeting included discussion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Vincent R. Brown, a Cincinnati-based consultant who coaches companies and nonprofits on DEI strategies, delivered a keynote address. This topic is salient, not only with stories dominating the news but also as an ongoing issue in the affordable housing industry and the communities they serve.