June 3, 2015

Beyond Bricks and Sticks





A weekly digest of current trends in housing and community development. The discussion examines topics from infrastructure to community fabric.


How Can We Build Support for Affordable Housing?

(RECAP: That's the question at the heart of a recent report from the Center for Housing Policy, "Building Support for Affordable Homeownership and Rental Choices." Gaining an understanding of what we need and what we mean by affordable housing is a necessary step to building support.)

Worst Case Housing Needs: 2015 Report to Congress

(RECAP: HUD finds worst case housing needs decreased during the 2011-to-2013 period but persist at high levels across demographic groups, household types and regions. The unmet need for decent, safe, and affordable rental housing continues to outpace the ability of federal, state and local governments to supply housing assistance.)

Millennials Aren’t Happy About Their Housing Options

(RECAP: A new report, America in 2015, by the Urban Land Institute counts 15 percent of millennials as “dissatisfied with their community’s quality of life and their current homes, and 21 percent are dissatisfied with their housing options.” Across the board, 25 percent of renters are unhappy with housing options.)

OCC Newsletter Focuses on Financing Small Multifamily Rental Properties 

(RECAP: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has published the latest edition of its Community Developments Investments electronic newsletter entitled “Small Multifamily Rental Property Financing.” The edition is part of a group of resources available to national banks and federal savings associations interested in financing multifamily rental housing.)

HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Fee Study: A Study in Collaboration

(RECAP: The study asks and answers two questions we have had since the mid-1970s: how much should HUD be compensating the more than 2,300 public housing agencies (PHAs) to administer 2.1 million housing choice vouchers, and what are the cost drivers that HUD should use in a formula to fairly distribute those resources?)

In This Rotating Apartment Of The Future, Everyone Gets A Penthouse View

(RECAP: The housing project, which industrial designer Yi-Chen Shin Kuo  envisioned for 2035, would allow city dwellers to enjoy a new landscape every day when they look out their window.)

Opinions on Housing

The views and opinions expressed in Opinions on Housing are solely those of the original authors, and do not necessarily represent those of VHDA, our stakeholders or any/all contributors to this blog.

The Swiss Army Knife of Community Development

(RECAP: The flexibility of development finance—money that earns less than the market rate but serves a community need—is critical to creating places where people can thrive. We never know exactly which tool we we’ll need, but having a community development financial institution (CDFI) is like having a Swiss Army knife in your pocket.)

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