On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity published a memorandum addressing Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCP) to address disparities in access to homeownership. The memorandum answers a long-standing question regarding SPCPs legality when viewed through the lens of the Fair Housing Act, which prevents unlawful discrimination against federally protected classes of people.. Despite efforts from fair housing organizations, many groups have been hesitant to enact SPCPs due to vagueness  in the statute   The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) adds to the  hesitancy by  prohibiting  reverse redlining ( minority communities cannot be targeted for lending in order to reduce predatory lending practices.) The memorandum includes a legal opinion that definitively states that “non-profit organization’s Special Purpose Credit Program established to serve an economically disadvantaged class of persons or a for-profit institution’s Special Purpose Credit Program designed and implemented in compliance with ECOA and Regulation B generally do not violate the Act.” 

“Despite SPCPs’ being specifically authorized under [the Equal Credit Opportunity Act], for too long banks have expressed reticence to establish these programs, some citing concerns that the Fair Housing Act somehow bars what ECOA explicitly permits. Today, HUD is making it clear that certain SPCPs that are lawful under ECOA generally are not barred by the Fair Housing Act,” stated HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.  

Mortgage Bankers Association is currently seeking a Program and Policy Specialist for Affordable Housing in Washington, DC. The position will help manage key affordable homeownership efforts, work on program and policy initiatives at the national and local level, and manage communications. Applications can be submitted via the online portal here. 

On Friday, NHC and eighteen other housing stakeholders sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Yellen strongly urging the Treasury Department to modify existing guidance on the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to provide more flexibility in the use of these funds in developments financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits. They note that the unprecedented surge in construction material costs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has made LIHTC production challenging, as have supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. The group argues that by leveraging Fiscal Recovery Funds with the private equity invested in LIHTC developments, states and local governments would be able to maximize the impact of the Fiscal Recovery Fund for affordable housing.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas finds a high correlation between current house price growth and potential inflation of rent. The chart below forecasts the 12-month PCE inflation rates for rent and OER (owner’s equivalent rent) through December 2023.

A podcast by CQ Roll Call featured an interview with HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and discussed the opportunities for housing in the United States with funding from the pending Build Back Better package. Fudge discussed meeting supply and demand challenges, equitable housing, increasing vouchers, and housing rehabilitation as big goals for the Department if the package passes the Senate. She reminded listeners of what the investment could do for the average person. “It literally is life-changing, when you consider the fact that we have never made this kind of an investment in housing in the history of this country,” she stated. 

A New York Times article examined whether or not the chance to convert hotels to housing is slipping away as COVID is slowly being addressed by vaccine uptake. Despite support of the idea, zero hotels were actually converted within New York City. A mixture of regulatory and zoning issues are to blame for the lack of conversions, as well as cost of development. The opportunity remains alive as hotels have not recovered and could ultimately save the city on otherwise costly development. NHC hosted a series of webinars earlier in the year on hotels-to-housing as a favored policy solution. 

An article by NPR examines the Biden administration’s recent decision to raise duties on lumber imports from Canada. The historic increases in lumber prices made headlines earlier in the year and became a topic of concern for many housing groups, but despite advocacy for lower tariffs from the National Association of Home Builders and others, softwood lumber duties were increased this week from 8.99% to 17.9%. Lumber costs directly impact the cost to build affordable housing, leaving housing advocates unhappy with the decision. 

The Washington Post reports that prices climbed 6.8% in November compared with last year, the largest rise in nearly four decades. Inflation has been spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended supply chains and reshaped the labor market while government stimulus has increased consumer demand. As inflation spreads through the economy, it has become a major concern for political leaders ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Democrats have argued that their Build Back Better proposal, which has been passed by the House and is currently under negotiation in the Senate, has key provisions to lower costs – including major housing proposals which could help increase housing supply and ease inflationary pressures.

Urban: Policy options to facilitate work at older ages, 12 – 1 p.m. ET

AEI: Reforming and restructuring earmarks, 1 – 3 p.m. ET

Next City: How cities are making holistic housing policy, 1 – 2 p.m. ET

BPC: Getting serious about housing supply, 1 – 2 p.m. ET

Urban: Supporting asset-based rural investment and capacity building, 2:30 – 4 p.m. ET

HUD: Emergency Housing Vouchers Office Hours, 3 – 4 p.m. ET

Urban: COVID-19 and unaccompanied homeless youth, 3 – 4 p.m. ET

Next City: The Reporters Roundtable, 3 – 4 p.m. ET

NCRC: CRA and race, 1 – 2 p.m. ET

HUD: Non-congregate shelter project case studies, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET

NAHRO: Ethics for specialists, 1:30 – 4 p.m. ET

NCRC: Master negotiation with mortgage servicers, 2 – 3:30 p.m. ET

Next City: Trivia night, 5 – 6 p.m. ET

Enterprise: Your new-construction portfolio, 1 – 2 p.m. ET

Urban: Improving homeownership outcomes Is critical to narrowing the wealth equity gap, 1:30 – 3 p.m. ET

HUD: Building an eviction diversion program, 2 – 3 p.m. ET

ABA: Takeaways from 2021 and what to watch for in 2022, 2 – 3 p.m. ET

HUD: COVID-19 planning & response for homeless assistance providers office hours, 2:30 – 4 p.m. ET

National REIA: REIA NOW Zoom call, 4 – 5 p.m. ET