U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs in December, below the 160,000 expected, according to Bloomberg. Like hiring, wage growth has also slowed, calling into question the real strength of the labor market after November’s surge.
Read MoreThis week, HUD released a proposed rule on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AHHF) that would dramatically alter the Obama administration’s final rule published in 2015. The rule changes the definition of AFFH and eliminates the community participation and engagement requirement as well as the requirement that federal grantees complete an analysis of impediments to fair housing. Comments on the proposed rule are due 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final (and proposed) regulations on the Opportunity Zones (OZ) tax incentive. The regulations modify and finalize the two previous proposed regulations that were issued in October 2018 and April 2019. The Treasury notes that “the final rules provide clarity for Opportunity Funds and their eligible subsidiaries in determining qualification and levels of new investment in Opportunity Zones.”
Read MoreAs RAD conversions continue to drive Project Based Voucher (PBV) growth, HUD proposes to fill an information gap to enable monitoring, tracking and analysis of PHAs’ PBV performance. Comments are due February 24, 2020.
Read MoreA new white paper released by Freddie Mac details how communities can use mixed-income and social impact housing to stimulate economic growth and diversity while preserving affordable housing. The research examines properties in areas of concentrated poverty, which are areas designated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency that are characterized by disinvestment, persistently high poverty levels, low economic opportunity and high housing costs relative to income.
Read MoreYesterday the House of Representatives voted to approve federal funding for the remainder of FY 2020, which will provide $738 billion to the military and $632 billion to non-defense agencies. The Senate is expected to pass the measures before the current continuing resolution expires on December 20, and the White House has indicated President Trump will sign them into law.
Read MoreLast week the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released a proposed rule that would modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Regulations. The proposal would overhaul CRA assessment boundaries, criteria for eligible CRA activities, and how banks are scored overall for their performance.
Read MoreSenators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Eviction Crisis Act of 2019 to shed light on the root causes of the eviction crisis, reduce preventable evictions and limit the devastation to families when eviction is unavoidable.
Read MoreGovernor Ralph Northam (D-VA) announced his proposed budget will include $92 million in new funding to address housing affordability, eviction rates and supportive housing throughout the Commonwealth. The Governor’s proposed budget invests $63 million in the Virginia Housing Trust Fund (VHTF), bringing the total amount to $84 million over three years.
Read MoreThe housing market posted strong results this week. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that housing starts rose 3.2 percent in November, pulling the annual pace up from 1,323,000 to 1,365,000, a three-month high. In other housing news, building permits unexpectedly rose 1.4 percent in November from 1,461,000 to a 1,482,000-unit pace, a more than twelve-year high.
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