Online Alerts

Online Alerts

FHA to Promote Greater Development in Opportunity Zones

August 14, 2019    

To stimulate greater multifamily residential and commercial development in Opportunity Zones, HUD Secretary Ben Carson recently announced the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will insure mortgages on mixed-use development under the agency’s Section 220 program in thousands of lower...

Chicago Streamlines LIHTC Process with New QAP

August 14, 2019    

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration is changing the rules for how the city allocates federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs). The city recently released a new Qualification Allocation Plan (QAP), which details the application process that developers must follow to obtain...

Senators Introduce Bill to Eliminate Qualified Contracts Option

July 17, 2019    

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Todd Young (R-IN) and Representatives Joe Neguse (D-CO), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) recently introduced the Save Affordable Housing Act of 2019. The Save Affordable Housing Act was introduced both the Senate and the House. This bill will make a...

JCHS Report Shows Slight Improvement for Cost-Burdened Renters

July 17, 2019    

Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) recently released its annual report, “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2019.” According to the report, 2017 measures showed small signs of improvement for cost-burdened renters. In 2017, 20.5 million renter...

Nevada Creates State Housing Tax Credit

July 17, 2019    

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak recently signed legislation that creates a transferable state housing tax credit with an annual cap of $10 million. If officials see strong demand for the credit, they can award up to $13 million in credits in a year, but the following year’s amount would be...

Lawmakers Reintroduce LIHTC Expansion Bill

June 13, 2019    

A bipartisan group of lawmakers have introduced legislation in both houses of Congress to expand the LIHTC program. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 was introduced by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Todd Young (R-Ind...

FHA Offers Incentives for Owners Who Invest in Opportunity Zones

June 13, 2019    

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently announced a package of incentives to encourage multifamily property owners to invest in thousands of neighborhoods located in Opportunity Zones across the nation.

Fed Issues Report on Economic Well-Being

June 13, 2019    

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System recently released its “Report on the Economic Well-Being of US Households in 2018.” The report describes the responses to the sixth annual “Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking,” and it highlights the wide...

Survey: A Third of Americans Have Trouble Finding Affordable Housing Near Work

May 9, 2019    

Fannie Mae and research firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) recently released survey data on how Americans feel about housing affordability and its relation to other factors, such as childcare options and job opportunities. The survey found that one in three people have trouble finding affordable...

Five QAP Changes That Can Increase Supportive Housing

May 9, 2019    

According to the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), there’s an estimated 1.125 million supportive housing units needed nationwide. In a recent report entitled “Optimizing Qualified Allocation Plans for Supportive Housing 2018–2019,” CSH pointed out that each year...

Veterans Housing Is Eligible for Tax-Exempt Bond Financing

April 11, 2019    

Two weeks after senators sent a letter asking IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to issue a notice clarifying that affordable housing projects for veterans that comply with the LIHTC General Public Use criteria are also eligible for Private Activity Bonds (PABs), the IRS released Revenue Procedure...

Treasury Issues Update to Priority Guidance Plan

April 11, 2019    

The Treasury Department recently issued the second quarter update to its 2018-19 Priority Guidance Plan. The plan details tax guidance the government intends to focus its efforts on in the coming months. As in prior years, the IRS updates the plan periodically to reflect additional guidance that...