July 08, 2021

As President Biden considers a permanent nominee for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), advocates and politicians are weighing how the administration should regulate the housing industry. Some advocates want the FHFA to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take on more financial risk to expand access to loans for people with low incomes, yet others believe making mortgages more accessible could increase default risk and lead to another bailout. “In the coming months and years ahead, we look forward to working with FHFA leadership to use the levers of housing finance to address the racial wealth gap, expand housing supply, and ensure housing affordability,” said Erika Poethig, special assistant to the president for housing and urban policy.

A recent survey identified 1,145 people experiencing homelessness in Thurston County, Washington. But there are only 139 permanent supportive housing units between Thurston and Mason Counties. Three nonprofits—Interfaith Works, the Family Support Center, and Habitat for Humanity—are leading the charge to fight homelessness by building supportive housing. They are currently building several developments and said they will double the number of permanent supportive housing units in Olympia, Washington, over the next several years. “There needs to be a diversity of options of what affordable homeownership looks like,” said Carly Colgan, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity of South Puget Sound.

Lawmakers in California and New York—two of the most expensive housing markets in the country—are in the process of enacting legislation to convert vacant hotels into permanent affordable housing, but New York is lagging. California has already awarded $800 million for local governments to purchase hotels and convert them into permanent housing. In New York, where about 50,000 people live in shelters and thousands more live on the street, state lawmakers allocated $100 million to finance the purchase of hotels by nonprofits and convert them into permanent housing, but Governor Cuomo has yet to sign the bill. As vaccine distribution continues, some worry the window for legislative action is closing. “This is a point in time that’s not going to last forever,” said Brenda Rosen, chief executive officer of Breaking Ground, a nonprofit housing developer.

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are gaining popularity in Maine as the state grapples with pandemic-related moving trends and a tumultuous housing market. ADUs can increase density and boost housing stock without creating additional lots or infrastructure and are ideal for families who want live near each other without having to share a house. The Maine legislature approved a bill that could make building ADUs easier by requiring all municipalities to allow at least one ADU on the same lot as a single-family house and to establish design standards for them. “ADUs can provide a home for young people starting out in a community [and] to elders who want to stay in their homes,” said Lynne Seeley, a board member on the Maine Real Estate and Development Association, in her testimony to support the bill.