GAO reports on growing senior homelessness crisis

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report on actions to help better address the growing homelessness crisis for older adults. The report explains that an estimated 138,000 older adults, defined as aged 55 and up, experienced homelessness on a single night in 2023 according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Point-in-Time count. The report specifically examines national estimates of older adults experiencing homelessness and housing cost data that could indicate risks of homelessness for older renters; housing needs prevalent among older adults experiencing homelessness and barriers communities may face in addressing those needs; and federal strategic planning and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HUD, and the Department of Veterans Affairs efforts to address homelessness among older adults.

GAO highlights how this population can be challenging to address by service providers, as older adults can require accessibility features in housing due to mobility limitations, functional impairments, and chronic conditions that shelters are often not able to provide. It further notes that older adults seeking to exit homelessness are more likely to face challenges from income constraints and employment, as many are beyond working age or unable to work due to disabilities and/or health conditions. Further, some older adults can no longer live independently and need to be placed in a nursing home or facility to successfully exit homelessness. Despite these challenges, the report explains that some providers are taking steps necessary to promote more equitable services in their programs.

The report has two main recommendations. First, for HHS to ensure that the Administration for Community Living (ACL) “as the lead agency for the Housing and Services Resource Center, works with partner agencies to clearly define short- and long-term outcomes for the center, consistent with leading collaboration practices.” Second, for HHS and ACL to work “with partner agencies to collect and use performance information and other relevant evidence to assess progress toward the center’s desired outcomes, consistent with leading collaboration practices.”

Local reps launch National Housing Crisis Task Force 

A bipartisan group of Mayors launched a new National Housing Crisis Task Force through a public-private sector group composed bipartisan local representatives. According to the announcement, the task force will work to identify “transformative and implementable innovations in the housing ecosystem related to public land, capital, construction, regulation, and governance” and create pathways to scaling such innovations for national impact. The initiative was announced via an opinion piece in Newsweek penned by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, and president of Fifth Third Community Development Corporation Susan Thomas.

“The current presidential administration has put forward proposals to address the housing crisis. These are welcome, but we'll need to do even more if we are to truly face this crisis head on. The federal government must move faster to expand the toolbox and incentivize policies that work,” the piece reads. “In Utah, Atlanta, and Cleveland, we are treating the housing crisis like a true crisis. State and local governments have more capacity, capital, and power at their disposal than is first apparent, but it is still far from enough. What Americans need is a holistic evaluation of the current interventions and the elevation of those that work best.”.

The group plans on publishing a national policy agenda for local action that they believe the new administration should include in a first 100-day plan. 

Ginnie Mae publishes rural MBS disclosures 

Ginnie Mae announced a new mortgage-backed securities (MBS) disclosure for rural borrowers that will allow deeper insights into rural housing profiles. Ginnie will publish monthly disclosures at the mortgage-backed securities level of the number of loans with rural borrowers and the percentage of unpaid principal balance. The announcement also notes that Ginnie worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and USDA geographers to develop data parameters, including an accurate definition of rural borrowers. Acting President Sam Valverde stated that the expanded definition helps to demonstrate commitment to Veterans Affairs and Federal Housing Administration borrowers, given that many borrowers live in rural areas. Publication is planned to be monthly.  

“This disclosure adds more granularity regarding our MBS collateral makeup,” said Richard Perrelli, Product Manager, Office of Capital Markets. “This enables investors to shift from an over-emphasis upon the insuring agency program by including additional borrower attributes. These factors will help create superlative MBS valuation models.” 

FHFA unveils new manufactured housing price index

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced new national datasets for manufactured homes price trends based on data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) that will be updated monthly. The two data series are Developmental House Prices Indexes and House Price Medians and will provide deeper insights to a market segment that serves as an affordable home option for many consumers. In an accompanying blog post, FHFA notes that since mid-2019, manufactured housing’s share of Enterprise single-family acquisitions has nearly doubled.  

The new datasets include purchase-only as well as transactions combining purchases and refinances, both that show quarterly price changes since 2000. Initial key findings of the new dataset show that house price indexes for manufactured homes increased by 7.9% year over year from 2023 to 2024, with the median price of a home at $231,000 in Q2 or 2024. The data also show that six states account for nearly half of manufactured homes transactions included in the data: Florida, Arizona, North Carolina, Washington, California, and Oregon.  

“FHFA’s new data resource on manufactured homes provides relevant, up-to-date information on an important but less-understood segment of the housing market,” said FHFA Director Sandra Thompson. “In a housing market with elevated home prices, manufactured housing remains an affordable option. This new data should help advance discussions on responsible efforts to expand homeownership opportunities.” 

MBA announces new CONVERGENCE Collaborative  

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced a new coordinated effort to identify and develop solutions to help close the racial homeownership gap called the CONVERGENCE Collaborative. The collaborative launched with 13 leading industry stakeholders including: the American Land Title Association (ALTA), DHI Mortgage, Fannie Mae, Fifth Third Bank, Freddie Mac, Lennar Mortgage, National Association of Realtors ® (NAR), Navy Federal Credit Union, Pulte Financial Services, Taylor Morrison Home Funding, U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI), and Wells Fargo Home Lending. The collaborative builds off of MBA’s current CONVERGENCE work in Memphis, Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and will expand upon and utilize those networks to create evidence-based tools and roadmaps to help all industry stakeholders better reach aspiring minority homeowners. MBA is committing $1 million per year to the work of the collaborative.  

“The barriers to minority homeownership require a collective effort. In recognition of this challenge, we believe the approach embodied in the CONVERGENCE framework can have a greater impact with this new industry partnership,” said MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit. “By working together, we can produce more and faster results that will reduce the racial homeownership gap.” 

HUD provides $420 million to remove lead hazards 

HUD announced over $420 million in funding to remove lead hazards from homes across 32 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. This initiative aims to safeguard families, particularly children, from lead exposure and other housing-related dangers. HUD is also allocating $2 million for weatherization efforts and $10 million for research on hazard identification.  

“Addressing lead poisoning is a top priority at HUD,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. The funding supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to protect children and communities from lead hazards, as part of their broader health and safety initiatives.  

This announcement follows other federal actions to combat lead exposure, including a rule to replace lead service lines within 10 years and $2.6 billion for water system upgrades. Lead exposure is particularly harmful to young children, pregnant women, and adults, leading to severe health risks.  

A significant portion of the funding, $395 million, will go to 73 local governments to reduce lead poisoning risks for children under six. Additionally, $13 million will support infrastructure development to identify lead hazards, and $2 million will help coordinate lead prevention services alongside weatherization efforts. The awards align with HUD’s commitment to the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to benefit disadvantaged communities.