Fudge Resigns As HUD Secretary

Marcia L. Fudge, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is unexpectedly resigning due to personal circumstances. Her exit comes after three years at HUD’s helm, having served for almost all of the Biden presidency.  Fudge attributed her decision to her 92-year-old mother, with whom she wants to spend more time, and says she has no plans to run for office again. “It’s time to go home,” Fudge told USA Today. “I do believe strongly that I have done just about everything I could do at HUD for this administration as we go into this crazy, silly season of an election.” Fudge will be just one of a few cabinet members to leave the Biden administration, giving…

Biden Addresses Housing Crisis In State Of The Union

President Biden used the State of the Union address Thursday to tackle the nation’s housing crisis and propose big plans to boost activity. “I know the cost of housing is so important to you. If inflation keeps coming down, mortgage rates will come down as well. But I’m not waiting,” he said in the address. The administration proposed a mortgage relief plan providing first-time homebuyers an annual credit of $5,000 for two years, effectively a $10,000 mortgage rate buydown that would save as much money as a 1.5% rate reduction. Another credit, aimed at current homeowners, would offer a one-year, $10,000 credit to families who sell their starter homes, helping to turn inventory over. More than 3.5 million middle-class buyers…

HUD Commemorates Black History Month

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development commemorated Black History Month by highlighting its impact on the Black community. “This Black History Month, we celebrate all that Black Americans have contributed to our great nation,” Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a statement. “As the 18th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and a student of history, today I honor the legacy of one of my personal heroes, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. Dr. Bethune was a scholar, activist, and champion of racial and gender advancement. Despite being born Black and a woman in America at a time when both groups were denied equal protection under the law, she worked tirelessly to change our country for the better. Like Dr. Bethune,…

Bringing Families Together: Could ADUs Help Millennials Get The Housing They Need?

By ERIN FLYNN JAY and KIMBERLEY HAAS A recent report from Redfin shows that Baby Boomers with empty nests own double the amount of large homes compared to Millennials with kids. So what if Grandma and Grandpa moved into an accessory dwelling unit and the three generations lived together so everyone could have some space? According to the report, Millennials with kids own 14% of the nation’s large homes, which are defined as having three or more bedrooms. Baby Boomers living by themselves or with one other person own 28% of these properties. Partially to blame is affordability. 2023 was the least affordable year for homebuying on record, with median-priced homes costing about $410,000, according to Redfin. Additionally, 54% of…

Former FHA Commissioner And MBA President Remembered For Impact On Housing Industry

By KIMBERLEY HAAS Federal officials and members of the mortgage industry are mourning the loss of David Stevens, who helped the country navigate the aftermath of the 2008 housing crisis before serving as president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association for seven years. Stevens worked as the Federal Housing Administration Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under former President Barack Obama. There from 2009 to 2011, he focused on restoring the administration to fiscal health and was a key player in drafting housing policy, according to an article by Reuters. HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said on Wednesday in a statement, “This country is better because of David’s service and contributions.” “Over the course of his…

HUD Officials Lay Out Wins, Impacts On Homeownership

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge testified before the House Committee on Financial Services this week, emphasizing the department’s progress in tackling the affordability crisis. “When this Administration began, conditions were bleak. During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans lost or had little access to quality, safe, and affordable housing. Many more were at severe risk of losing their homes,” Fudge said in prepared remarks. “Now, three years later, HUD has made historic strides to provide direct housing assistance, expand opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing, root out discrimination in housing, and build strong and resilient communities in urban centers and rural areas, alike.” Fudge noted, however, that the need for HUD assistance is “ever-growing.”…

Opinion: HUD Homeless Count Fails To Connect Dots On Supply And Displacement

By EDWARD PINTO On December 15, HUD released its annual Point-In-Time (PIT) homeless and housing inventory counts (HIC) conducted in January 2023. The key finding was that homelessness reached a record high as the 2023 annual count increased 12% and 18% respectively from 2022 and 2017. The average rate of homelessness per 1,000 population in 2023 was 20. The PIT is calculated for the 381 local and state Continuums of Care (CoC), which HUD uses to track homelessness. The hundred-plus page report had lots of data along with a handful of anecdotal references to burgeoning housing purchase and rental costs. However, it contained precious little insight as to the steps needed to address our burgeoning homeless problem. Conspicuous in its…

New Home Sales Slowed To A Crawl In November

New home sales sank again in November despite cooling mortgage rates, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales fell by 12.2% from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000, well below the rate of 685,000 units predicted by economists. This is the sharpest decline since April 2022. November saw the beginning of a cool down that brought interest rates to the mid-6’s. But at the start of that process, rates were at their highest levels in more than two decades, nearing 8%. New home sales were up only 1.4% year-over-year, a notable decline from the month prior’s 17.7% YOY increase. Lack of existing inventory pushed buyers to new…

New Home Sales Sank In October

New home sales sank in October as mortgage rates priced potential buyers out of the market, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Sales fell by 5.6% from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 679,000, below the rate of 730,000 units predicted by economists. New home sales are up 17.7% year-over-year, however, as lack of existing inventory pushes buyers to new construction. There were 439,000 new homes for sale at the end of October, representing a 7.8-month supply at the current sales rate. The median sales price of new houses sold in October 2023 was $409,300, while the average sales price was $487,000, both down by more…

Link Between Housing And Health Highlighted By HUD

By KIMBERLEY HAAS The Biden-Harris Administration has released a set of actions to better social determinants of health and officials at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development say it shows the importance of housing as a key driver of health outcomes. The U.S. Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health says social determinants of health are defined as “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.” These account for as much as 50% of county-level health outcomes, according to the playbook. The playbook says housing insecurity is associated with increased mental health challenges, adverse birth outcomes for…