The Spring Street Brief

Thirty months after Chicago announced its 2023 LIHTC awards, only 2 of 13 funded projects have closed and broken ground — a concrete signal that the city's layered approval process is straining one of affordable housing's most important financing tools. With $562M in estimated development costs on the line and construction inflation pushing per-unit costs higher, the stalled pipeline raises urgent...

HUD has published its notice designating Difficult Development Areas (DDAs) and Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs) for 2027 LIHTC allocations. The designations carry a 30% eligible basis boost — a figure with direct implications for deal feasibility, equity pricing, and year-end allocation strategy for developers, syndicators, and lenders active in both 9% and 4% bond-financed transactions. Key Takeaw...

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, in collaboration with the Housing Initiative at Penn, has released a sweeping study — Understanding and Preserving Federally Supported Housing in Pennsylvania — finding that more than 180,000 affordable rental units across the commonwealth face long-term supply and affordability risks. The report maps federally supported rental housing statewide and identif...

House Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee, led by ranking member Maxine Waters (D-CA), have formally urged FDIC Chairman Travis Hill and Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould to extend the public comment period on proposed Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rule changes to at least 120 days. The Affordable Housing Action Coalition (ACTION) has simultaneously mobilized industry s...

A bipartisan bill — the Affordable Housing Preservation and Protection Act — was introduced last week by Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Representatives Shontel Brown (D-OH) and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL). The legislation targets distressed HUD-assisted housing through a new loan program, expanded HUD intervention authority, and stronger community engagement requirements. The National Housing a...

Kentucky Housing Corporation has announced it will publish a public Non-Compliant Master List of multifamily management companies and owners beginning January 1, 2027. Entities named on the list — for failing to meet KHC multifamily compliance policies, HUD/state regulations, or Section 42 requirements — will be barred from KHC funding applications until all issues are resolved. For LIHTC develope...

USDA and HUD signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding on September 29, 2026, establishing a formal interagency framework to streamline environmental reviews, environmental impact statements, and physical inspections across their overlapping housing portfolios. Mandated by Section 802 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (enacted July 11, 2026), the MOU has direct implications for LIHTC dev...

The IRS has published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would impose new reporting requirements on qualified opportunity funds (QOFs) and qualified opportunity zone businesses (QOZBs). The proposal requires QOFs to file information returns with the IRS, furnish statements to investors upon disposition, and requires QOZBs to furnish statements to any QOF holding an interest in them. The rules al...

The Bipartisan Policy Center convened a high-profile webinar on September 28, 2026, examining the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and its consequences for HUD's Housing Choice Voucher program. With HUD Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Benjamin Hobbs delivering opening remarks alongside panelists from the National Apartment Association, the Public Housing Authorities Directors Ass...

The CDFI Fund has officially opened the calendar year 2026 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation round, making $5 billion in tax credit authority available to Community Development Entities. With a registration deadline of October 6 and a final application deadline of November 10, the timeline is compressed — and for affordable housing developers, syndicators, and lenders who layer NMTC into LI...

Missouri's Housing Development Commission has released its draft 2028 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for public comment. MHDC is accepting written submissions through 5:00 p.m. on October 16, 2026, and a public hearing is scheduled for October 15, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. CT. For LIHTC developers, syndicators, and investors with Missouri exposure or pipeline, the draft QAP and its accompanying redline...

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has formally asked the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC to reduce the Basel III risk weight for LIHTC equity investments and associated loans from 100% to 20% — an 80-percentage-point reduction that could materially change the economics of bank participation in the affordable housing tax credit market. The letter adds congressional pressure to an advocacy campaign that NH&...

HUD has published a Notice of Research Justifying Additional Incentives for Certain Activities to Reduce Homelessness in the Federal Register, dated September 11, with a public comment deadline of October 13. The notice proposes offering unspecified bonuses or incentives to Continuums of Care (CoCs) that adopt homelessness reduction strategies beyond the Housing First model — a significant policy...

The House Financial Services Committee held a markup today featuring two bills with direct implications for affordable housing finance. H.R. 10325, introduced by Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA), would raise the mandatory Federal Home Loan Bank contribution to the Affordable Housing Program from 10% to 15% of annual net earnings beginning in 2026 — a 50% increase in required AHP set-asides. H.R...

President Trump has nominated Matt Jones as FHA Commissioner and Assistant Secretary of Housing at HUD. Jones, who has been serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single-Family Housing since 2025, brings deep experience across HUD, the Mortgage Bankers Association, Capitol Hill, and the private mortgage market. The nomination now awaits a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing,...

The Federal Reserve unanimously raised the federal funds rate to a target range of 3.75%–4% at its September policy meeting, citing inflation running at 3.4% year-over-year and elevated geopolitical and trade uncertainty. For LIHTC developers, syndicators, and lenders, the move translates directly into higher acquisition, development, and construction (AD&C) loan costs — compressing deal feasi...

The Continuing Resolution extending federal appropriations through December 11 contains a pivotal provision — Section 153(b) — that directs HUD to issue Tenant Protection Vouchers to every family leased up with an Emergency Housing Voucher as of September 30, 2026. PHAs must complete those TPV issuances before December 31, 2026. The National Housing Law Project has released a detailed memo to guid...

New Hampshire Housing has issued a final reminder that applications for the 2027 9% LIHTC program are due Friday, September 25, 2026 at 5:00 PM via the HDS NextGen Application Portal. With a small-state allocation and a hard cutoff, developers and syndicators active in New Hampshire's affordable housing pipeline need to be submission-ready now. Key Takeaways: Final application deadline: Friday, Se...

Dominium has acquired land in Caldwell, Idaho, to develop Residences at Wilson Creek — the company's first ground-up affordable housing project in the state. The 251-unit development will deliver two-, three-, and four-bedroom townhomes under the Section 42 LIHTC program, targeting family-sized affordable housing in the fast-growing Treasure Valley corridor. For LIHTC investors, syndicators, and l...

Kentucky Housing Corporation's competitive 9% LIHTC application window for the 2027 funding round closed at noon ET on September 11, 2026. For developers, syndicators, and lenders active in Kentucky affordable housing, the deadline marks the start of KHC's review and award process — and the beginning of the runway to position for the 2028 cycle. Key Takeaways: The 2027 competitive 9% LIHTC applica...

A peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Housing Economics delivers long-sought empirical ammunition for LIHTC developers, syndicators, and policymakers: large-scale affordable housing built under Massachusetts Chapter 40B generated more than $2,000 in new tax revenue per capita within three years of opening — without measurable harm to school quality, public safety, or traffic outcomes. The findin...

North Carolina's Federal Tax Reform Allocation Committee, acting on recommendations from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, has approved tax credits and tax-exempt bonds for 53 developments that will unlock more than $1.46 billion in affordable housing construction. The awards span LIHTC, tax-exempt bonds, state loan programs, and $69.1 million in CDBG-DR disaster recovery funding for comm...

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency has completed its 2026 allocation round, unlocking more than $1.46 billion in affordable housing development through LIHTC, tax-exempt bonds, and a suite of state and federal loan programs across 53 approved developments. For developers, syndicators, and investors active in the Southeast, this round signals both the scale of North Carolina's pipeline and t...

Tennessee Housing Development Authority (THDA) has opened Round 3 of its 2026 Multifamily Tax-Exempt Bond Authority (MTBA) program, making $280.4 million available for multifamily use. With a submission deadline of September 24, the window is narrow — and for developers, syndicators, and lenders active in Tennessee's 4% LIHTC market, timing is everything. Key Takeaways: $280.4 million in private a...

The Government Accountability Office has released a comprehensive report on the Opportunity Zone tax incentive, responding to a congressional request for review in the aftermath of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), enacted in 2025. The report examines how OBBBA provisions reshape future zone characteristics, what states and stakeholders experienced under the original program, how much is act...