Housing News feed http://www.cbpp.org/topic/?fa=topic&id=33 en-us Copyright 2008 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. All rights reserved. Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:00:03 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Executive Summary Members of Congress are considering extending — and possibly substantially expanding — the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The credit, which is available to first-time homebuyers with incomes up to $150,000 (up to $75,000 for individuals), expires on December 1 of this year. The evidence strongly indicates that Congress should show restraint, especially in considering … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/pb_xGoQ6sNE/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2965 Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:38:52 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2965 The Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA), which the House Financial Services Committee approved in July and the full House will likely consider this fall, contains a series of important, carefully crafted measures to strengthen the housing voucher program. Most significantly, it would help and encourage state and local housing agencies to assist more needy families within the available funds, an important improvement at a time of rising poverty and homelessness. In … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/dHeM2c20VL8/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2929 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2929 As a result of a shortfall in funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program for calendar year 2009, an estimated 400 state and local housing agencies across the country will be forced to reduce or eliminate rental assistance for a significant number of the 500,000 low-income families they serve. While landlords may absorb some of the cuts through reduced rents, the burden will fall primarily on low-income families, often in the form of sharply increased rental costs. … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/Auocl_eVvAU/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2916 Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2916 The federal government spends more than $3 billion per year on utility costs in public housing and privately owned subsidized housing. Investments that increase energy efficiency in subsidized developments can lower those expenditures and generate long-term federal savings that would offset much of the up-front cost. Those same investments would also cut greenhouse gas emissions significantly and benefit the vulnerable families, senior citizens, and people with … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/yb3Kj8soYtU/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2862 Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2862 Executive Summary This is an important time to reform “Section 3,” the federal requirement that low-income individuals receive a portion of the economic benefits created through federal investments in affordable housing. Not only is rising unemployment creating added hardship, but federal recovery funds are being distributed to projects across the country that are subject to the Section 3 requirement, and the Obama Administration is … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/GzWfKqA9XJw/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2837 Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2837 The Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) would take a series of important, timely steps to strengthen the voucher program, the nation's most widely-used low-income housing program. At a time when poverty and homelessness are rising, this bill would make housing affordable to more needy families, and provide more flexible and effective assistance. In this podcast, Will Fischer discusses his testimony on SEVRA before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/8hjcgCtqvn4/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2835 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2835 Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am Will Fischer, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Center is an independent, nonprofit policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of federal and state policy issues affecting low- and moderate- income families. The Center’s housing work focuses on improving the effectiveness of federal low-income housing programs, and particularly the Section 8 … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/8Gu4NiG4Ztw/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2833 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2833 Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am Will Fischer, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Center is an independent, nonprofit policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of federal and state policy issues affecting low- and moderate- income families. The Center’s housing work focuses on improving the effectiveness of federal low-income housing programs, and particularly the Section 8 … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/8Gu4NiG4Ztw/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2833 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2833 The Housing Choice Voucher Program (sometimes referred to as the “Section 8 voucher program” after the section of the U.S. Housing Act that authorizes it) is the largest federal low-income housing assistance program. Families who are awarded vouchers use them to help pay the cost of renting housing on the open market. Because most vouchers are provided to particular tenants to live where they choose, they are often … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/iEwcjJ8H6Ys/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2817 Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2817 “We at HUD and in the Administration are fully committed to attacking the affordability gap in rental housing and ensuring that housing affordability is a long term priority.” — HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, speaking before the National Low Income Housing Coalition on April 21, 2009. Whether President Obama’s 2010 budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which the … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/8xLkoz0Ppi4/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2803 Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2803 “ One of the changes in attitudes that I want to see here in Washington and all across the country is a belief that it is unacceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours.” — President Obama, speaking to reporters on March 24, 2009. “An extensive body of careful research has demonstrated that housing vouchers are critically important both for preventing families with children from becoming … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/4c6A-cG7PN0/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2786 Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2786 The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is by far the nation's largest low-income housing program. More than 2.2 million housing vouchers have been authorized by Congress and allocated to the approximately 2,400 housing agencies that administer the program. It is also the housing program that is the most targeted on the lowest income families: 75 percent of new families served each year must be extremely low-income.[1] The voucher program does a better job than any other low-income … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/GIhnTZupwjE/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=809 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=809 Of the 2,191,371 vouchers authorized for agencies nationwide, only 90 percent were used by families last year. In contrast, 96 percent of authorized vouchers were used in 2004, before policy changes and underfunding led to a decline in utilization, representing a loss of vouchers for about 120,000 families. This year, housing agencies have sufficient funds, including reserves, to assist about 190,000 additional families, thereby using up to 98 percent of their authorized … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/aqtkrwcR4F0/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2710 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2710 This report, based on significant new research, examines the state of public housing in the United States today and discusses federal policy changes that have greatly improved public housing over the past decade, as well as the deteriorating funding situation that is undermining this progress. It then outlines several policy recommendations that could further strengthen public housing and preserve most developments for the future. Executive Summary Located in more than 3,500 communities … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/qnF4kKjK5vk/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=655 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=655 The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is by far the nation’s largest low-income housing program. More than 2.2 million housing vouchers have been authorized by Congress and allocated to the approximately 2,400 housing agencies that administer the program. It is also the housing program that is the most targeted on the lowest income families: 75 percent of new families served each year must be extremely low-income.[1] The voucher program does a better job than any other low-income … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/GIhnTZupwjE/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=809 Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=809 What Is Public Housing? Public housing, one of the nation’s primary housing assistance programs, provides homes to 2.3 million low-income Americans. Nearly two-thirds of public housing families have members who are elderly or have a disability. Public housing is separate from the Section 8 housing voucher program, which helps low-income tenants rent units of their choice in the private market. It is also distinct from “project-based” Section 8 and … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/kzD_Yx22eYc/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2528 Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2528 Executive Summary New data indicate that the number of homeless families with children has climbed in recent months and continues to mount.  Although the recovery package that Congress will consider in coming weeks is expected to include measures to restore several million jobs, an unusually large number of people are still likely to fall into severe poverty and to be at risk of homelessness, due to the depth of the recession.  As a result, it is important that the package include funding for … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/XyUjrQ6hWhE/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2228 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2228 The economic downturn has sharply reduced the effectiveness of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, the nation’s primary subsidy for development of affordable rental housing. Faced with lower profits and reduced access to capital, fewer corporations are willing to invest in affordable housing in exchange for the credits. As result, the LIHTC is supporting far less construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing and creating far fewer jobs than it has in the past. … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/c7GgPp5e_2M/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2477 Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2477 An amendment by Senator Isakson that the Senate added to its economic recovery legislation, providing a new $15,000 tax credit for home purchases in the 12 months after enactment,[1] has low bang for the buck as stimulus and is thus a dubious addition to the package. Unlike the $7,500 first-time homebuyer credit that Congress adopted as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act in July 2008 — which the new tax credit would replace — any homebuyer purchasing a principal … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/Es4I7n-z9Ek/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2530 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2530 A large and growing number of low-income renters face unaffordable housing costs. Federal housing programs have proven effective in enabling millions of low-income households to obtain stable, decent housing, but a funding squeeze and various actions taken by Congress and the Bush Administration have weakened these programs considerably, just when the need is rising. This report documents that growing need, explains how federal housing programs help address it, shows how recent … http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/XLuwNMmq_Jo/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2691 Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2691 Despite persistent claims to the contrary, the President’s proposal to cap the value of itemized deductions at 28 percent would have only small effects on small business, charitable giving, and homeownership. That’s because the proposal, which would save $318 billion over the next ten years to help finance health care reform, would affect only those tax households with incomes over $250,000 that face tax rates of either 35 or 33 percent and that itemize their deductions.… http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CBPP-Housing/~3/_tiJWzIciAM/ http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2707 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=2707