Affordable housing

Metro Orlando recently ranked third nationally for its shortage of rentals that are affordable enough for the region's lowest-income residents, a new study shows.

Lawmakers approved a measure to increase the program's funding by nearly $3 billion over four years.

RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corp. is now subservicing mortgages originated by Neighborhood Lending Services, a Chicago-based nonprofit that provides fixed-rate loans for home purchases, refinancings and renovations.

One candidate in the San Francisco mayor's race wants to shake out the pockets of real estate developers. Another wants to sue speculators who he said are putting people out on the street. A third called for a rigorous analysis of the city's housing stock.

The City of Detroit released new details Monday of an ambitious plan to establish a $250 million affordable housing fund that will preserve 10,000 existing units in neighborhoods throughout the city and develop 2,000 new units within the next five years.

The Federal Home Loan banks could "design and implement" their own system for deciding how to allocate resources for affordable housing initiatives under the proposal by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Banking and affordable housing advocates are encouraged by a provision in the tax reform legislation that could increase investment in underserved communities by allowing investors to defer capital gains taxes when they reinvest in federally chartered Opportunity Funds.

The secretary of housing and urban development also urged the Senate to approve Brian Montgomery to be the new Federal Housing Administration commissioner.

A $300 rent hike threw Noemi Hernandez' finances into a tizzy in 2016, forcing the part-time cashier to apply for food stamps and curtail spending on other things. A year later, her rent went up another $160.

The House Financial Services Committee chairman is calling out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator for authorizing payments to two housing trust funds while the mortgage giants have their own financial struggles.

With manufactured housing growth still sluggish, industry advocates want the Department of Housing and Urban Development rules to be more in line with current building trends.

Freddie Mac posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $3.3 billion and will request $312 million from the Treasury after recent tax reform legislation forced it to write down the value of deferred tax assets.

Despite a legislative push by some senators and other stakeholders to jump-start housing finance reform, efforts to form consensus over a bill once again are stuck in neutral.

Vermont’s first sustainability bond sale yielded strong demand to fund new affordable housing throughout the Green Mountain State, according to Gov. Phil Scott.

Supporters of an unreleased bill to revamp the housing finance system say the plan strikes a middle ground that can gain support from both sides of the aisle.

Craig Phillips, a top aide to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said his department "broadly" agrees with the FHFA plan, which would return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private market and provide them an explicit government guarantee.

A shortage of Orlando houses on the market — particularly in affordable price ranges — is a concern for the region's leading industry group.

Though multifamily housing starts are projected to slightly moderate this year and next, production levels are expected to remain in a steady range considered normal, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Mayor Keisha Bottoms said housing affordability, transparency, public safety, education, and transportation are priorities.

The tax law is expected to eliminate 300,000 affordable housing units over 10 years in part because it will reduce the value of banks’ low-income tax credits, which finance half of all affordable housing units.