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During the August recess, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act garnered more support and co-sponsorships from Congressional members. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 was reintroduced in June by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.), and U.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Kenny Marchant (R-Texas), Don Beyer (D-Va.), and Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.).
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced that it will increase caps on the amount of multifamily loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase next year while also closing some loopholes. The regulatory agency will now limit the two firms to purchasing $100 billion in multifamily-housing residential loans, respectively, between the fourth quarters of 2019 and 2020. The caps are substantially larger than in previous years.
The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies recently published a report called “A Home Builder Perspective on Housing Affordability and Construction Innovation.” It found that both single-family and multifamily home builders identify labor and building-material costs and availability to be the largest obstacles to building low-income housing. Seventy percent of builders find housing affordability issues to be a serious concern across the nation, and 75 percent find they are a serious concern in their market area.
The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee recently released a memorandum that lists proposed changes for the state’s low-income housing tax credit program. For 2020, the $500 million in state credits will be available through the noncompetitive application process. The committee also seeks to add authority to utilize the 130 percent basis increase with state credits allocated from the new $500 million. The boost in state LIHTCs is intended to help developers build more affordable housing around the state.
The National League of Cities (NLC) Housing Task Force recently published “Homeward Bound: The Road to Affordable Housing.” The report focuses on the challenges and solutions communities are using to address the nation's growing affordable housing crisis. The report offers several policy actions and gives a comprehensive overview of the history and factors behind the crisis, as well as case studies from cities launching innovative solutions and recommendations from experts.
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created Opportunity Zones (OZs) to stimulate long-term investments in low-income communities. As the initiative offers capital gains tax relief to those who invest in these distressed areas, the tax incentives are anticipated to spur $100 billion in private capital investment in OZs. On average, the median family income in an OZ is 37 percent below the state median. Overall, more than 8,700 communities in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and five U.S. territories have been designated as OZs. Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities designated as OZs.
According to an analysis by the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA), the amount of capital targeted for investment in designated Opportunity Zones (OZs) has increased dramatically. NCSHA compiles a directory of OZ funding opportunities. This resource provides descriptions and contact information for publicly announced funds that have been formed for the purpose of attracting investment in OZs. NCSHA is tracking only multi-project opportunity funds.
Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) recently released its annual report, “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2019.” The report examines the state of the housing market in 2018. It found that:
Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), along with a group of 13 bipartisan senators, reintroduced the Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act, which aims to better understand and respond to America’s housing affordability crisis by creating a bipartisan housing task force. The task force would evaluate and quantify the impact of housing costs on other government programs and provide recommendations to Congress on how to increase affordable housing options to improve life outcomes. Specifically, the task force will:
Presidential candidates are increasingly focused on affordable housing. Most recently, Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro joined other presidential hopefuls, including Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in releasing a housing plan that calls for major investments in affordable housing.
Secretary Castro’s People First Housing Plan seeks to do the following to increase the supply of affordable housing:
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