The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) annual report shows that single-family guarantee fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have increased to two and a half times what they were in 2009. FHFA's report also examines the impacts of recent changes to the guarantee fee policy and includes details on guarantee fee quality and quantity. FHFA recently announced some changes to g-fees but those changes did not include an overall decrease.

As part of a 2014 settlement resulting from their roles in the 2008 financial crisis, Bank of America and Citigroup will be required to provide consumer relief. As Bloomberg Business reported last week, part of that consumer relief in New York will come from Bank of America and Citigroup providing $75 million in low interest loans for the rehabilitation or development of 3,700 new affordable units (2,200 within New York City and 1,500 throughout the state). This development, along with Mayor Bill de Blasio's commitment to increasing the city's affordable housing supply by 200,000 units, could help those most affected by the severe shortage of affordable rental housing. 

In a speech at the National Press Club on July 2, Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry talked about block granting housing programs as part of a solution to poverty. Along with House Ways and Means Chair Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Perry is now one of two prominent GOP leaders talking about major policy change involving housing as a response to poverty. These proposals have a long way to go before any kind of enactment, but the housing community should engage with them now or risk being left out of the conversation. Read more on NHC's Open House blog.

The affordable housing shortage is no longer just affecting low-income or young demographics; as the Houston Chronicle reports, households at almost every income level now have trouble paying less than 30 percent of their income on housing. According to "State of the Nation's Housing 2015" from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, around half of the renters in the United States are cost-burdened and a quarter dedicate over half of their monthly paycheck to housing costs. The lack of affordable housing is so severe, in fact, that many renters spend over 70 percent of their income on housing costs. As The Atlantic points out, providing housing at more affordable rates would allow renters to spend some of this money on other costs and could put nearly $56 billion back into local economies.

Because of the high cost burden facing renters, many are unable to save money for a down payment and are more likely to remain in the rental market. As fewer people transition from renting to homeownership, higher-income individuals resort to renting which encourages developers to build luxury rental housing rather than moderately priced units. In fact, 82 percent of new rental units built between 2012 and 2014 were luxury apartments, according to CoStar Group research. This trend keeps vacancy rates low and raises rents for everyone. Prices for rental housing will likely continue this upward trend unless more affordable housing becomes available. 

by Rebekah King

The Urban Institute has issued a new report, "Worlds Apart," on neighborhood change from 1990 to 2010. The report found that residents in the most privileged neighborhoods experienced income, wealth and education gains. Residents in disadvantaged neighborhoods, however, more often experienced income declines. Overall inequality between low-income and high-income neighborhoods increased over this 20-year period. The report also discusses the role of zoning and discriminatory housing practices in contributing to neighborhood inequality. 

On June 25, HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research held a panel discussion on upward mobility, mixed-income housing and the importance of place. The discussion, entitled "Investing in People and Places for Upward Mobility," was moderated by Katherine O'Regan, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. The dialogue focused on mixed-income communities as a key strategy to improve outcomes for low-income families; creating mixed-income communities can be done through investing in people through mobility strategies and investing in place through comprehensive community development. Some key themes from the discussion were that strategies for supporting upward mobility vary; collaborative efforts allow for the strongest projects and success can be difficult to measure in the short-term. Read more about this event on NHC's Open House blog.