(RECAP: While the numbers remain small, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) notes there is a slowly increasing trend of single-family homes being built specifically as rentals. Robert Dietz, chief economist and senior vice president for NAHB says that, while the small numbers mean care must be taken when identifying trends, there were solid gains in the built-for-rent market over the last year. The percentages translate to 34,000 housing starts in this category for the four quarters ending with the first quarter of 2016 compared to 26,000 for the four prior quarters. At the same time, there has also been a trend toward purchasing newly constructed homes on the part of institutional investors. Builders are even starting to offer institutional buyers bulk discounts.)

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(RECAP: Fauquier Habitat for Humanity and 100 local volunteers will conduct a “blitz build” this fall on Haiti Street in Warrenton. The “Road Trip Crazies,” a group that supports Habitat affiliates, will join the effort Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 29-30, to build a home for a local family. Volunteers and professional homebuilders who do lightning-quick house-building events make up the “Road Trip Crazies.” The group formed in 1998 in Lynchburg.)

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(RECAP: On August 15, National Multifamily Housing Council and NAA provided detailed feedback to HUD on a proposed rule that would change how Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program Honest Market Rents (FMRs) are set in many areas nationwide. The proposal calls for certain areas to set FMRs by zip code – what HUD calls Small Area Honest Market Rents – instead of the current metropolitan area-wide standard with an adjustment for high-cost areas. If HUD’s proposed rule goes into effect, it could have large impacts on voucher holders and property managers. For example, the zip code where the revitalized NoMa neighborhood in DC is located is slated to see an nearly $500 per month decline in FMRs under the proposed methodology.)

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