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

HUD Publishes Housing Trust Fund State Allocations 

HUD published in the Federal Register the state-by-state 2016 allocations for the Housing Trust Fund (HTF). As HUD announced last month, total 2016 HTF funding is approximately $174 million. Pursuant to the HTF Interim Rule, state allocations are determined by a formula based on four factors: (1) a state's relative shortage of rental housing available nationwide to extremely low-income (ELI) families (persons with incomes at 30 percent of area median income (AMI) or less); (2) a state's relative shortage of rental housing available nationwide to very low-income (VLI) families (persons with incomes at 50 percent of AMI or less); (3) a state's relative number of ELI renter households living in substandard, overcrowded, or unaffordable units in that state; and (4) a state's relative number of VLI renter households living in substandard, overcrowded, or unaffordable units in that state. In addition, construction costs in each state are factored into the formula. The HTF statute establishes a $3 million minimum allocation for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development will receive $3,140,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Housing Trust Fund (HTF).

HFA Program Loans Exempt from Final USDA QM Rule 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released a final rule establishing the underwriting standards that loans originated through the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) must meet to be considered "qualified mortgages." Loans that do not meet these standards will no longer be eligible for insurance under SFHGLP as of April 28.
The definition of "qualified mortgage" set in the final rule is largely similar to the definition USDA initially proposed last year. To be eligible for SFHGLP insurance, loans will have to meet the program's underwriting standards, and upfront points and fees must not exceed three percent of each loan's total principal, with adjustments made for smaller loans.
The final rule includes an exemption from the rule's requirements for loans originated through HFA programs.