In Case You Missed It: A Look at Recent National Housing Policy News

NeighborWorks Report Illustrates the Ongoing Success of National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program

https://www.ncsha.org/blog/neighborworks-report-illustrates-ongoing-success-national-foreclosure-mitigation-counseling-program

On September 24, NeighborWorks America released its eleventh Congressional Report on the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program.  According to the report, NFMC participants, including 40 HFAs, have provided 1.9 million homeowners foreclosure mitigation counseling since the program was launched in December 2007.  An evaluation, conducted by the Urban Institute last year, found that NFMC counseling continues to have a positive effect on homeowners participating in the program. The evaluation found that homeowners receiving NFMC counseling were roughly 1.5 times more likely than those without counseling to not have their mortgage re-enter a troubled status after receiving a loan modification cure. The study also found that NFMC-counseled homeowners were almost three times more likely to receive a loan modification cure than non-counseled homeowners. Those NFMC-counseled homeowners who received a loan modification cure had their annual payment reduced by an average of $4,980.   VHDA has previously participated in the NeighborWorks program.  Currently, VHDA is not a grant participant, but uses the HUD Housing Counseling funds it receives to support comparable local foreclosure mitigation counseling programs.

House Financial Services Chairman Seeks Recommendations for Restructuring HUD and Improving the Delivery of Housing Resources

https://www.ncsha.org/blog/house-financial-services-chairman-seeks-recommendations-restructuring-hud-and-improving-delivery-housing-resources

In commemoration of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s 50th anniversary, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) has issued a call for ideas to reform HUD and modernize the delivery of federal housing assistance.  Proposals and recommendations will be accepted until November 1, 2015.  NCSHA will be submitting comments on behalf of our HFA members.  VHDA will be responding to Rep. Hensarling’s request by submitting comments through NCSHA.

Enterprise and JCHS Project Renter Burdens in 2025

http://blog.enterprisecommunity.com/2015/09/enterprise-project-burdens

Enterprise Community Partners and the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) have released “rojecting Trends in Severely Cost-Burdened Renters: 2015–2025,” which examines how demographic and economic trends over the next decade are likely to affect the near record number of renters with severe housing cost burdens—that is, paying more than half their income in rent. The bottom line:  assuming current economic conditions remain constant, the report expects demographic trends alone to increase the number of severely cost-burdened renters by 11 percent to 13.1 million in 2025, up from 11.8 million in 2015. On the other hand, if current trends continue, where rent gains outpace income growth, the number could reach 14.8 million. Even in the unlikely event that the next decade sees sustained gains in incomes relative to rents, the number would decline only slightly. In short, the renter affordability crisis is unlikely to abate and is more likely to get a whole lot worse.