News Alert: May 23
NYS HCR Announces Notice of Funding Availability
New York State Homes and Community Renewal has announced that it is accepting applications for allocations of $4,000,000 in state low-income housing tax credits (SLIHC) and $7,000,000 in loans under the Homes for Working Families (HWF) Program.
News Alert: May 21
Immigration Reform Could Impact Real Estate Market
Immigration reform could impact the real estate market as people are brought out of the shadow economy.
News Alert: May 20
Luxury Projects Crowding Out Affordable Development
The sharp rise in high-rise luxury development is believed to be "warping the local real-estate market, making it more difficult to put up more-affordable housing."
News Alert: May 20
Alliant Sells Off Affordable Housing Loan Unit
Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. has purchased Alliant Capital LLC, from the Alliant Co. and Alliant Inc. Alliant Capital has a multifamily loan portfolio of about $3.9 billion. Alliant Capital Ltd., which provides tax credit equity for affordable housing development, will remain a part of the Alliant Co.
News Alert: May 20
Westchester Head Provides Affordable Housing Update
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino provides an update on affordable housing construction undertaken to comply with the 2009 housing discrimination settlement with HUD.
News Alert: May 20
HUD Reports New Construction Activity for April
The multifamily sector drove the increase in April building permits.
News Alert: May 20
Debate Begins Regarding Next Planning Commissioner
Debate has started regarding who the next City Planning Commissioner will be. Under the guidance of Amanda Burden, the City Planning Commission has rezoned nearly 40% of the City.
News Alert: May 20
Environmental Review Ordered for Controversial 20-Story UWS Nursing Home Development
Developers of a proposed UWS 20-story nursing home have agreed to conduct an environmental assessment study. Local residents have been reluctant to embrace the project and recently cited the existence of heightened lead levels in the soil as a reason for the project to be delayed.
News Alert: May 20
Williamsburg Waiting for Promised Affordable Housing
Of the 1,345 affordable housing units promised by the City in conjunction with the 2005 rezoning of Williamsburg, only 19 have been built.
News Alert: May 17
Financing Approved to Finance Mitchell-Lama Transfer
The New York State Public Authorities Control Board has approved the issuance of fixed-rate bonds to finance the transfer of the Mitchell-Lama housing loan portfolio from New York State Empire State Development’s Urban Development Corp. to New York State Homes & Community Renewal.
News Alert: May 16
Developer Rips Up LES Children's Garden
A portion of the Children's Magical Garden on the Lower East Side has been fenced off by a developer in negotiations with HPD over a land swap.
News Alert: May 15
Next CFA funding round announced
"Application materials will be available by June 3rd. The [Consolidated Funding Application] will be open to applicants on June 17th and submissions from the regional councils are due September 24th."
News Alert: May 15
NYCHA Residents React to Fee Hikes
NYCHA residents are protesting rate hikes and service cuts.
News Alert: May 15
NYC Comptroller Liu Highlights Senior Housing Needs
New York City Comptroller John Liu has released a report highlighting the looming rise in the elderly population and offering strategies to increase affordable housing inventory.
News Alert: May 15
Stuy Town Owner Jacks Up Rent Mid-Lease
Stuyvesant Town residents found rent increase notices on their doors yesterday.
News Alert: May 10
State Funds NYC Housing Developments
Crain's is highlighting the eight affordable housing projects in NYC that received a total of $10 million as a part of Governor Cuomo's recent $91 million state-wide housing award allocation.
News Alert: May 10
Construction Begins on Five-Story Bed-Stuy Project
Construction has started on 28 affordable units in Bedford- Stuyvesant. The developer is the H Holding Group.
News Alert: May 10
Crown Heights Sees Increase in Demand
Bigger units and lower rents are attracting people to Crown Heights in Brooklyn.
News Alert: May 10
Sandy Victims to Get Affordable Housing Preference
NYC residents displaced by Superstorm Sandy will receive housing preference for a portion of the affordable units being built by Area Property partners at 50 North Fifth Street in Brooklyn. The 229-unit building will include 46 permanently affordable apartments, 12 of which are being set aside for Sandy victims.
News Alert: May 10
Freddie Mac Records 2nd Largest Profit
Freddie Mac reported $4.6 billion in first-quarter income, the second largest in company history. Through the end of March, "Freddie Mac provided—through purchases and issuances— approximately $138 billion in liquidity to the housing market (with $132 billion going toward single-family purchases and issuances and $6 billion going to the multifamily sector)." The single-family serious delinquency rate was 3.03 percent as of March 31, while the multifamily delinquency rate was only 0.16 percent.
News Alert: May 9
Buffalo UWS Project Gets $3.5M
The sustainable-housing organization PUSH Buffalo has been awarded more than $3.5 million to continue transforming housing stock on Buffalo's West Side with the construction and rehabilitation of 46 low-income rental units.
News Alert: May 9
WellsFargo Program Provides $9.5 in Homebuyer Assistance
Wells Fargo's CityLIFT program is providing $9.5 million in down payment assistance and homebuyer education programs in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Newark and Jersey City. NeighborWorks America is collaborating on the initiative.
News Alert: May 9
HUD Leaders Discuss Restructuring Plan
In an interview with Housing Finance, HUD Assistant Secretary and FHA Commissioner Carol Galante and HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Marie Head discuss HUD's planned restructuring and office closings.
News Alert: May 9
Related to Build Chelsea Artists Housing
Related Companies is expected in August to begin construction on a 129-unit affordable housing development on West 29th Street in West Chelsea. 70 percent of the units are set aside for artists while the rest are split between low-income and senior households in Community District 4.
News Alert: May 8
Report on the Effect of Tax Reform on Affordable Housing
Novogradac & Company has released a report showing that a "lower corporate tax rate and extended depreciation would lead to loss of hundreds of millions in equity raised for affordable rental housing."
News Alert: May 8
Greenpoint Disapproves of 5,500-Unit Development
A plan for 5,500-unit housing complex in Greenpoint that would include as much as 1,400 units of affordable housing met with boisterous local disapproval at the Community Board 1 meeting last night.
News Alert: May 8
Cuomo Announces $91 Million to Build Affordable Housing
Governor Cuomo has announced $91 million in awards for shovel- ready projects to build affordable housing across the state. "The low-interest loans and tax credits will build and preserve 2,060 units of affordable housing and are expected to leverage more than $485 million in grants, loans and private resources."
News Alert: May 7
Parking Concerns Arise in Seward Park Urban Renewal Area
There is concern that the special permit obtained by the EDC for up to 500 public parking spots within the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area will affect its urban composition. Bids were recently accepted to develop the area with 1,000 residential units, half of which would be permanently affordable.
News Alert: May 7
Housing Agencies Push to Impose Time Limits, Work Requirements
Time limits and work requirements may be increasingly attached to voucher programs and public housing residencies due in part to an item in President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2014 budget. The budget proposes allowing "substantial expansion" of a test policy allowing housing authorities to set restrictions on residents.
News Alert: May 6
Report Cites "Little Inherent Value" in GSEs Multifamily Presence Without Gov't Guarantees
A report commissioned by the Federal Housing Finance Agency states that the government guarantee component is the main driver of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s multifamily market presence. Without the guarantees, the GSEs "multifamily businesses would be less viable and have little inherent value.”
News Alert: May 6
GreenHomeNYC Announces Green Building Tours and Workshops
GreenHomeNYC is hosting a series of workshops and tours highlighting energy-efficient construction in New York. Highlights include cost-efficient compliance with Passive House standards at 424 Melrose Street in Brooklyn and the 10,000 sq. ft. hydroponic greenhouse on the roof of the South Bronx's Arbor Houses.
News Alert: May 6
AIG Boosting Its Multifamily Portfolio
AIG is increasing its "direct investment in real estate to reduce its reliance on the Wall Street firms that package mortgage loans." Previously AIG had provided equity financing for a 510-unit rental project in Williamsburg.
News Alert: May 6
1,400 Affordable Units Coming to Greenpoint
A 22-acre development in Greenpoint appears to be moving forward after nearly a decade of false starts. The proposed plan includes 5,500 apartments "spread among as many as two dozen buildings, including 10 luxury towers of 30 to 40 stories."
The developers will be building over 400 affordable units on an adjacent city-owned lot in addition to the nearly 1,000 affordable units included in the main project.
Construction may begin before the end of the year.
News Alert: May 6
Big Developers Eye Seward Park
Bruce Ratner, The Related Cos. and AvalonBay are the developers expected to vie for the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area project which 1,000 residential units. Half of those units will be permanently affordable.
News Alert: May 6
Mortgage Acquisition Limits Placed on GSEs
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced it is directing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "to limit their future mortgage acquisitions to loans that meet the requirements for a qualified mortgage". Loans that would be off-limits include "interest-only loans, loans with 40-year terms, or those with points and fees exceeding the thresholds established by [Dodd-Frank]."
News Alert: May 3
Sullivan County Workforce Housing Proposal Considered
A Sullivan County hotel and casino plan could also include up to 500 units of workforce housing.
News Alert: May 3
Seattle’s Microapartments Trend Faces Backlash From Neighbors
With NYC just entering the micro-unit world, Seattle's more mature micro-unit market is experiencing some growing pains.
News Alert: May 3
Greenpoint has joined Bushwick as a neighborhood seeing significant pricing pressure. "Average studios skyrocketed from $1,875 to $2,688, one-bedrooms from $2,411 to $2,685, and two-bedrooms from $2,722 to $3,036."
News Alert: May 3
Westchester County Schedules Hearing on Income Discrimination Law
Westchester County legislators approved a May 6 public hearing at 7:30 p.m. to discuss a law that would ban discrimination against potential homeowners and renters based on their source of income, such as Section 8 housing vouchers.
Hearing May 6 on source of income legislation | Westfair Communications
News Alert: May 3
Freddie Mac Expands Senior Housing Offering With K Certificates
Freddie Mac is expanding its senior housing products by offering approximately $369 million in K Certificates backed by multifamily senior housing mortgages.
K certificates are Structured Pass Through securities:
• First, mortgage loans are sold to a third-party depositor who deposits the loans into a third-party trust.
• Private label securities backed by the loans are then issued by the third-party trust.
• Subordinate bonds and mezzanine bonds, which are not guaranteed by Freddie Mac, are issued by the third-party trust and are privately offered to third-party investors.
• Freddie Mac purchases all the senior, guaranteed bonds issued by the third-party trust and securitizes the senior bonds via a Freddie Mac trust.
• The resulting Freddie Mac guaranteed structured pass-through certificates (“K-Certificates”) are then publicly offered by Freddie Mac via placement agents.
News Alert: May 3
Housing Groups Welcome Obama’s Housing Director Nominee
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which promotes access to affordable housing, supports the nomination of Congressman Mel Watt as Federal Housing Finance Agency head and sees it as a sign that the FHFA will finally offer more support to low-income households with underwater mortgages.
News Alert: May 2
Work Begins on Solar-Powered Spring Creek Housing Development
Construction has begun on the second phase of the energy- efficient, mixed-use, affordable housing Gateway Elton Street development in the Spring Creek section of Brooklyn. Developed by The Hudson Companies, and CAMBA Housing Ventures, the project will add 175 affordable rental units to the City's inventory. It will also house the largest solar energy system on a residential development in all of New York State, producing 1 million watts at full completion.
News Alert: May 2
HPD Seeks Developers to Rebuild Sandy-Affected Homes
HPD has issued an RFP looking for qualified developers to participate in rebuilding 1-4 unit homes in New York City that were destroyed or substantially damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
News Alert: May 2
HUD Issues Disabled Housing Design Guidelines
HUD has issued new design guidance "to assist design professionals, developers and builders in understanding and meeting their obligations and to assist persons with disabilities" in meeting the requirements of the federal Fair Housing Act.
News Alert: May 2
Comment Period Opens on 421-m Program Changes
The public comment period has opened concerning changes to Real Property Tax Law 421-m. The 421-m program provides a tax exemption for certain new or substantially rehabilitated multiple dwellings from local taxation. The comment period ends on May 24th.
News Alert: May 2
Manhattan Legislators Pushing NYCHA on Lease Plans
Manhattan legislators have submitted a bill requiring NYCHA to increase public input into its plan to lease land at eight Manhattan sites for the development of 4,300 apartments. Twenty percent of the units would be affordable.
News Alert: May 2
Unions Call for Wage Protections on City Projects
Construction unions are pushing the City to extend recent living wage legislation to apply to city-subsidized projects.
News Alert: May 2
President Obama Names Head Housing Regulator
President Obama has nominated North Carolina congressman Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congressman Watt has served 20 years in the House on the Financial Services Committee, which oversees federal housing policy. The President highlighted Congressman Watt's support for increased access to affordable housing.
News Alert: May 2
City Seeks Developer for Queens Middle-Income Mega Project
Developers are being sought for the second phase of the Hunter's Point South housing project in Queens. The RFP asks for 1,000 new units with at least half set aside for middle- and moderate-income families.
The 925-unit first phase was eventually won by the Related Companies in partnership with Monadnock Development and Phipps Houses and will include a new school.
News Alert: May 1
House to Hold Multi-Family Finance Hearing
The House Financial Services Committee will be holding a hearing on May 16 at 2 p.m. on multi-family housing finance.
News Alert: May 1
Westchester Fears Local Zoning Override
The ongoing battle between HUD and Westchester County is raising concerns among local residents that HUD could override local zoning ordinances.
News Alert: May 1
Astoria Cove May Provide Subway Shuttle Service
Developers of the Astoria Cove project in Queens are proposing shuttle service during morning- and evening-rush hours to the 30th Avenue N/Q line station about a mile away. Astoria Cove would be made up of seven mixed-use buildings, ranging from eight stories to 30 stories. Of the planned 1,700 units, 340 would be reserved for affordable housing.
News Alert: May 1
NYCHA Facing Maintenance Delay Lawsuit
Public housing tenants at Smith Houses in Manhattan are suing the New York City Housing Authority over delinquent maintenance work.