(RECAP: On November 16, HUD published in the Federal Register a final rule regarding the use of small area honest market rents (SAFMR) in certain metropolitan areas, and replacing HUD’s existing 50th percentile honest market rent (FMR) policy for the Housing Choice Voucher (voucher) program. SAFMRs reflect rent standards in zip code areas while traditional FMRs reflect a single rent standard for an entire metropolitan region. According to HUD, 50th percentile FMRs—the current policy for addressing high voucher concentration – have been largely ineffective. HUD expects that SAFMRs will better address high levels of voucher concentration in certain communities and give voucher holders access to areas of high opportunity by providing a subsidy that is adequate to cover rents in those areas. HUD also addressed concerns posed by NCSHA and others about using SAFMRs in low vacancy areas by exempting areas with vacancy rates of 4 percent or less.)

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(RECAP: The FHA hasn’t gone far enough in relaxing its rules on borrowers seeking an FHA loan for a condominium, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In a letter this week to FHA’s overseer HUD, the trade group took issue with a policy that requires a condo complex to meet a minimum owner-occupancy threshold to be eligible for FHA lending. NAR also questioned the agency to do away with a rule that limits the concentration of FHA loans to half the units in a complex. NAR said that FHA should impose no fixed owner-occupancy levels, but consider every project on a case-by-case basis. The trade group also said that the agency should allow a concentration of FHA loans of up to 100 percent of the units in a complex. The trade group cited FHA data that suggest condo loans have been performing better than the average single-family loan and so shouldn’t be considered riskier than single-family loans.)

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(RECAP: The election has brought a dark cloud of uncertainty over the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) market. With Donald Trump moving into the White House with a Republican-controlled House and Senate, the prospects of tax reform have shot up dramatically. That’s heightened concerns that the LIHTC program could be significantly hampered, or even eliminated, under asweeping tax reform effort. Specifically, Trump has called for slashing the business tax rate from 35% to 15%. That’s pushed investors and syndicators to calculate what such a go would mean to their investments and how to get new deals done.)

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