General News

The Brookings Institute has released a new white paper that offers a “magic pill” for the federal government by suggesting the possibility of over $1 billion in annual savings, improved building longevity, health, and affordability, as well as thousands of new jobs through retrofitting the federally subsidized multifamily portfolio in order to increase energy and water efficiencies and reduce operating costs.

Fannie Mae has announced the introduction of a new Guaranteed Multifamily Structures, or Fannie Mae GeMSTM, an expanded multifamily mortgage-backed securities (MBS) execution that will include DUS Megas, DUS REMICs and syndicated DUS Megas.

NH&RA Historic Preservation Development Council Member MacRostie Historic Advisors has posted an excellent state historic tax credit update on its website.

The Virginia Housing Development Authority has issued a reservation application update for 2011 LIHTCs. The update addresses the locality notification information summary, an additional EarthCraft Multifamily Training Session (February 25), Universal Design training (February 17), and several minor corrections to the 2011 application.

The White House today announced that the Obama Administration’s fiscal 2012 budget will propose an expansion of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program to $5 billion from $3.5 billion to encourage investments in startup companies and small businesses based in low-income areas.

The Center for American Progress, an influential policy think-tank, has issued a new report titled “A Responsible Market for Housing Finance: A Progressive Plan to Reform the U.S. Secondary Market for Residential Mortgages.”

Joseph Smith, President Obama’s nominee to run the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), has withdrawn his nomination after strong opposition from Republican Senators.

The Urban Institute has issued a new report of annotated literature review that surveys the research on mixed-income housing and the impact on low-income children and adults.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has commissioned a study to assess the LIHTC program after 15 years to determine whether projects that reach the 15-year mark are remaining affordable, what types of properties are or are not remaining affordable, as well as major factors that contribute to these outcomes.

The Arkansas Development Finance Authority has extended its 2011 low-income housing tax credit program application deadline by one month until March 4, 2011.

The Alabama Housing Finance Authority will hold a 2011 LIHTC and HOME application workshop on February 14 in Montgomery, AL.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau have decided to delay the start of data collection for the American Housing Survey for three months, from the beginning of May until the beginning of August.