All Eyes on Washington Passage of Legislation to Extend New Markets Program Is Chief Issue for Industry

By Caitlin Jones
November 17, 2010 1 min read

Tax Credit Advisor, November 2010: For the new markets tax credit (NMTC) industry, all eyes are on Washington, wondering whether or when Congress will enact legislation to reauthorize the program, which lapsed on December 31, 2009.

“The biggest issue facing the industry now is extension,” says Marc Hirshman, a senior executive of U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, which purchases new markets tax credits for St. Louis-based U.S. Bank, the largest NMTC investor.

In most respects, conditions in the NMTC program are much like a year ago: no program extension; a small number of major investors; a shortage of conventional leveraged debt; and conservative underwriting. Read More…

Breaking Ground

Jennifer Leimaile Ho, Minnesota Housing Commissioner and Incoming Chair of National Council of State Housing Agencies

Pamela Martineau • December 1, 2024 10 min read

Earlier this fall, Jennifer Leimaile Ho was elected chair of the National Council of State Housing Agencies’ (NCSHA) 2025 Board of Directors. Ho is the Commissioner of Minnesota Housing, having been appointed by Governor Tim Walz in January 2019 and reappointed in 2023.

“Business as Usual”

Leaders in Equity Express Optimism Despite an Uncertain Future

Abram Mamet • December 1, 2024 9 min read

Any outside observer may assume some unease amongst the low-income housing industry. Buffeted on the one hand by residual stressors from the COVID-19 pandemic and on the other by the uncertain prospects of an incoming federal administration keen on cutting spending and shrinking government programs, the affordable housing landscape is experiencing an inflection point.

NCSHA Recognizes Stand-Out Affordable Housing Programs and Initiatives

Pamela Martineau • December 1, 2024 7 min read

This fall, the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) recognized 17 programs offered by state housing finance agencies across the nation that creatively developed tools to tackle their communities’ affordable housing challenges.