Thomas Amdur • 3 min read
On June 24, Harvard University published its annual State of the Nation’s Housing Report and the researchers found much to be concerned with. Housing starts are down and homeownership rates are at a 20-year low. Our sector of the market is fairing better in some respects as multifamily vacancy rates continue to decline and rents increase, but these same trends are putting greater pressure on low and moderate- income renters.
A. J. Johnson • 4 min read
On July 8, 2015, the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) issued a final rule on the procedures that must be followed by localities with regard to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. The rule directs HUD program participants to take significant actions to integrate all zip codes in a particular locality. The rule refines the prior approach by replacing the analysis of impediments (AI) with a fair housing assessment of localities, and was issued almost immediately after the Supreme Court held that the Fair Housing Act allows “disparate impact” claims.
David M. Abromowitz • 4 min read
When HUD took its seat at the President’s table back in 1965, issues of race and equality were on the front pages daily, and the challenges facing American cities had become a priority. One of HUD’s first Secretaries, George Romney, embodied the spirit that it could tackle those challenges. He championed desegregation and a strong urban policy emphasizing region-wide solutions.
Thomas Amdur • 3 min read
On June 11, the House Financial Services Committee hosted a HUD Oversight Hearing. Committee Chair Jeb Hensarling’s (R-TX) opening statement quoted President Lyndon Johnson: “We have declared unconditional war on poverty. Our objective is total victory.”
Thom Amdur • 3 min read
The Obama Administration has answered that question with an ambitious focus on energy efficiency. It launched the Better Buildings Challenge in 2011 and aims to reduce energy use among buildings, from residential to commercial to public, by 20% over the next 10 years. The Department of Energy, which spearheads the initiative, convened more than 900 participants for the 2015 Better Buildings Summit in Washington, DC, this May.
Joel Swerdlow • 5 min read
In accordance with congressional mandates, every state issues a Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) explaining the criteria it will use in awarding Federal 9% Low Income Tax Credits (LIHTC). The topic is particularly hot because the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., which involves Texas’ allocation of LIHTCs, and focuses on whether the Fair Housing Act of 1968 outlaws only intentional discrimination.
Mark Olshaker • 12 min read
Whenever politics, public policy and competing interests converge, the effects can be explosive
and controversial.
Bendix Anderson • 7 min read
New money from pension funds, life insurance companies and commercial banks is flowing into apartments with affordable rents. These private equity investments in affordable housing are just a trickle so far – but they may soon become a flood.
John W. Gahan III • 14 min read
Life was good, or it should have been, for Gerry General, the general partner of a partnership that owned Good Life Lofts, a 150 unit low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) property, located in Rising Rents, USA. But Gerry was a “glass half-empty” guy. As he tried to relax aboard his 34 foot Tartan sailboat, becalmed on the waters of Lake Erie, the future of Good Life Lofts weighed on his mind.
Darryl Hicks • 10 min read
For many low-income seniors, access to quality, affordable in-home care is a pipe dream. If a tenant qualifies for services under Medicaid it normally means a trip to the nursing home, which nobody wants. In progressive Minnesota, where thinking outside of the box is a way of life, developer Tom Schuett has developed a business model that allows him to provide round-the-clock home healthcare to his tenants while getting reimbursed by the state.
Joel Swerdlow • 4 min read
“The best way to change the world,” iconic folksinger and social activist Pete Seeger once said, “is to find a positive story and tell it.”
Darryl Hicks • 10 min read
On his first day as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing, Edward Golding was asked by the Office of Public Affairs to sit for his official photograph – instead, as a playful joke, he considered sending over a photo of Albert Einstein.
Five weeks later, when I shook Golding’s hand prior to sitting for this interview, I noticed the resemblance right away. And while he may not be a world-famous physicist, Golding is a gifted economist, who has spent the past quarter century working in the mortgage finance industry and advocating for policies that strengthen access to affordable housing.