(RECAP: For years, Loudoun County has shut its own Affordable Dwelling Unit program out from the state and federal grants that most localities use to extend their workforce housing programs. The Board of Supervisors is beginning the process of opening the door to those grants. The problem lay in the regulations of the county ADU program. Developers who rezone land for large subdivisions (more than 50 units) are required by county zoning rules to contribute a certain number of units, distributed throughout the development, to the county ADU program to be rented or sold below market value. The requirements on those units conflict with standards set by VHDA and HUD. That means that, although developers may be required to build ADUs, those same rules prevent them from qualifying for VHDA and HUD grant funding.)

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(RECAP: Much of the conversation regarding affordable rental housing tends to focus on younger households – in particular, Millennials. But recent findings from our first Freddie Mac 55+ Survey suggest that shifting housing choices by the Baby Boomers and those older may significantly exacerbate the already acute shortage of affordable housing in the years to come. Through our recent survey of nearly 6,000 55+ homeowners and renters conducted by GfK on behalf of Freddie Mac, we learned that an estimated 6 million homeowners and nearly as many renters prefer to go again and rent at some point. Of those homeowners and renters that expect to go again, over 5 million indicate they are likely to rent by 2020. We believe these numbers may be understated as both homeowners and renters tend to overestimate their ability to age in place. )

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(RECAP: The Richmond City Council approved the sale of 14 tax-delinquent properties across the city Monday. The city currently sells the properties to nonprofit organizations such as ElderHomes Corp., which will buy six of the 14 properties following Monday’s vote. The Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity will buy six properties, and the Better Housing Coalition will buy two. Each property will be sold for $1,750 and will be redeveloped. The nonprofits chose which properties were best for them to help develop as low-income housing, said Nicholas Feucht, a project manager analyst in the Department of Economic and Community Development. Councilman Chris A. Hilbert questioned why more isn’t being done to help blighted neighborhoods.)

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