Affordable housing

A Denver-based real estate company specializing in affordable multiunit family and senior housing has bought several low-income or senior housing units in central Maine for $21 million and expects to renovate the properties.

The prospect of a lower corporate rate resulting from looming tax reform discussions may be a blessing for the industry, but it could be bittersweet for one particular group of bankers.

Saying he was fed up co-existing with town officials, the owner of a 1750s-era house on Main Street in Rowley, Mass., has put the home and the 6.8 acres it sits on up for sale and is encouraging developers to build affordable housing there.

Among the budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration is $6 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which could translate to the loss of Section 8 housing to 1,400 families statewide, about half of them in Albuquerque.

While Freddie Mac is moving cautiously into buying manufactured housing loans not secured by land, Fannie Mae is moving more aggressively. Industry representatives are divided on which approach is superior.

Rather than working with large-scale investors, Freddie Mac said it will focus on assisting community organizations and local institutions to fund single-family properties for renters with special needs.

California Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders announced that the state's housing crisis will be at the top of their agenda when lawmakers return in August from a month-long break.

The latest readings on mortgage credit availability show slight improvement month-to-month, reversing course after two consecutive declines in April and May.

To close gaps in volume caused by inventory shortages and help consumers get over the homeownership hump, lenders are offering mortgage programs and features like low down payments, bridge loans for home sellers and student loan refinancing. (Part two in a four-part series on the mortgage industry's response to the housing inventory shortage.)

Rising home prices threaten to chill one of metro Atlanta's most valuable selling points: the affordability of housing.