The Spring Street Brief

The Trump administration's effort to eliminate HUD's Restore-Rebuild initiative is now a national story, following a Politico report that highlights the program's cancellation and its cascading effects on public housing authorities and affordable housing developers. The San Diego Housing Commission is walking back plans for 700 units; the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities says the move c...

HUD's newly released LIHTC Tenant Tables for 2023 reveal that 57.2% of LIHTC residents earn 30% or less of area median gross income — the highest share of extremely low-income tenants ever recorded in the dataset. With a national median tenant income of just $18,600 and nearly half of all residents receiving rental assistance, the data paints a clear picture of who the program is actually serving...

The Housing Assistance Council's latest research brief confirms what many rural housing advocates have feared: USDA's Section 515 Multifamily Housing portfolio is shrinking faster than scheduled maturities alone would explain. With 504 properties already gone ahead of their loan maturity dates and seven Midwestern states each losing more than 10% of their Section 515 stock since 2021, the affordab...

A coalition of local governments and nonprofits has filed a supplemental complaint challenging HUD's FY 2026 Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity, arguing it mirrors the version a federal court already found likely unlawful in December 2025. With applications still due August 26, developers and syndicators structuring supportive housing deals with CoC operating subsidies face real under...

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) has released its draft Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for 2027 and 2028, opening a brief public comment window that closes July 10, 2026. For LIHTC developers, syndicators, investors, and lenders active in Connecticut, this two-year plan will govern how CHFA scores and ranks tax credit applications through the end of 2028 — making early engagement...

HUD has announced that all Preservation Rent Increase (PRI) funding available under the RAD for PRAC program has been exhausted for calendar year 2026. Any new RAD for Section 202/Project Rental Assistance Contract conversion plan submissions that include PRI funding and were submitted after May 29, 2026, will be waitlisted on a first-come, first-served basis. For sponsors, syndicators, lenders, a...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the Duty to Serve regulations governing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The proposed rule replaces the existing prescriptive Activities framework with a flexible, principles-based approach — and expands LIHTC credit eligibility across all three Duty to Serve underserved markets. For LIHTC investors, affordable housing developers, a...

HUD has issued a Request for Information (RFI) targeting a shift from project-specific waivers to general applicability (product-category) waivers under the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA). For LIHTC developers and their construction teams, this is the most actionable near-term opportunity for relief from one of the most disruptive compliance requirements introduced into federally assisted h...

President Trump canceled a planned signing of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, leaving enrolled housing legislation in a holding pattern with no rescheduled signing date confirmed. NAHB Chairman Bill Owens expressed confidence the bill will eventually become law, but the delay introduces meaningful uncertainty for LIHTC investors, developers, syndicators, and state HFAs watching for any feder...

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR) have reintroduced the Decent, Affordable, Safe Housing for All (DASH) Act for the third consecutive Congress. The bill expands LIHTC, introduces a new Middle-Income Housing Tax Credit (MIHTC), restructures the first-time homebuyer tax credit to be advanceable at closing, and adds a new home-sale loss deduction of up to $100,000 for low- and middle...

The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) has opened a public comment period to gather input on topics under consideration for its 2028 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). With this window opening nearly two years ahead of the plan's effective year, developers, syndicators, lenders, and investors active in Missouri have an early and meaningful opportunity to influence how LIHTC and MHDC reso...

A bipartisan House bill — H.R. 9311, the Build Housing Affordably Act — has been introduced by Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE), Chairman of the House Housing and Insurance Subcommittee, and Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH). The legislation targets Build America Buy America Act (BABA) requirements that have created cost and timeline friction for affordable housing developers relying on federal funding streams,...

May housing starts fell 15.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.18 million units, but the headline understates the real shock: multifamily construction cratered 40.2% in a single month to an annualized pace of just 295,000 units — down 14.2% year-over-year. For LIHTC developers, syndicators, and lenders, the data lands at a critical moment, signaling that the construction pipeline is under...

Bond markets have shifted from pricing in Fed rate cuts to assigning greater-than-even odds to a rate hike — a reversal with direct consequences for LIHTC developers, syndicators, and lenders. With core inflation at a three-year high of 3.3%, headline CPI at 3.8%, and the two-year Treasury up more than 70 basis points since March, the rate environment for affordable housing finance has materially...

Cinnaire has closed Fund for Housing Limited Partnership 45 (Fund 45), a $307 million LIHTC equity fund targeting the creation and preservation of 2,259 affordable housing units across 27 properties in 10 states. The fund will directly benefit an estimated 5,196 residents and represents one of the larger single-fund LIHTC equity closes in Cinnaire's history — a notable signal of sustained institut...

Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) have sent a bipartisan letter to HUD Secretary Turner calling for administrative reforms to the Build America, Buy America (BABA) waiver process. The current system — designed to accommodate products not domestically available in sufficient supply — has instead created significant delays and, in some cases, hard stops for affordable housing...

President Trump appointed FHFA Director Bill Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence on June 2 — while keeping him in place as FHFA Director and chairman of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The dual role raises immediate questions about leadership bandwidth at the agency that oversees the GSEs, with direct implications for multifamily lenders, LIHTC syndicators, and affordable housing de...

HUD released Part 1 of the 2025 Annual Homelessness Report, delivering the first year-over-year reduction in the national point-in-time count since 2016. With 745,652 people counted as homeless in January 2025 — a 3.3% decline from 2024 — the report offers a cautious but meaningful signal for housing-focused policy. For LIHTC developers, syndicators, and policymakers, the data lands at a pivotal m...

The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) has released a revised Multifamily Program Compliance Manual, updating guidance across three compliance policy areas for developments financed with Housing Tax Credits and/or CHFA multifamily loans. For owners, investors, syndicators, and compliance professionals with Colorado affordable housing assets, this is the new controlling document — and CH...

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) has approved $11.5 million in 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocations supporting six developments across five Connecticut municipalities — Cromwell, Farmington, Hartford, Naugatuck, and New Britain. The awards will produce 319 total rental units, including 282 affordable apartments, spanning both new construction and preservation deals. For LIH...

Maryland's General Assembly passed two significant pieces of housing legislation in 2026 — the Maryland Transit and Housing Opportunity Act and the Maryland Housing Certainty Act — alongside a Fiscal Year 2027 budget designed to support the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development's affordable housing programs. For LIHTC developers, syndicators, and lenders active in Maryland, the...

The Office of Management and Budget, joined by more than 40 federal agencies including HUD, has proposed a sweeping revision to government-wide rules governing federal financial assistance. With up to $1 trillion in funding in scope and a final rule targeted for October 1, 2026, the proposal carries direct implications for affordable housing developers, operators, and lenders reliant on HUD grants...

The House T-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee passed its FY 2027 HUD funding bill last week on a 9-7 party-line vote, and the full House Appropriations Committee is marking it up today. With a total HUD budget of $71.4 billion — $5.9 billion below FY 2026 enacted levels — the bill sets the opening position for a funding fight that will directly affect LIHTC deal stacks, voucher availability, and HOM...

HUD has released its Fiscal Year 2026 Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity — $4.04 billion in federal homelessness assistance structured around a fundamental policy shift away from housing-first and toward recovery, self-sufficiency, and competitive performance accountability. For developers, syndicators, and lenders with exposure to supportive housing, the implications for operating su...

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed the House 396-13, with White House advisers signaling the President would sign the bill in its current form. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) issued a joint statement pledging to advance legislation — but signaled the Senate's version isn't simply a rubber stamp on the House bill. A key fault l...