March 24, 2022

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae announced they will accept remote desktop appraisals on eligible loans without physically inspecting the property. Studies have shown that appraisers often undervalue homes when the homeowner is Black or Latino, so this new process—in which an appraiser never meets the homeowner—could help reduce racial bias. “Will this be a magic fix? Maybe not. But it’s definitely another tool in the toolbox for trying to combat racism,” said Ken Wingert, Zillow’s head of federal government relations. 

The Housing Assistance Council’s recent analysis of the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Program found that more than 20,000 rental units have left the program in the past five years. Sixty percent of the rental properties were concentrated in the Midwest and South, and their exit from the program will contribute to the lack of affordable, quality housing in rural communities.

Tribes across the United States are using housing trust funds (HTFs) to fill financing gaps and build affordable housing projects for their communities. HTFs receive ongoing dedicated sources of public funding to support the preservation and production of affordable housing. The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe received $2.9 million for the Warrior Ridge Supportive Housing Project, which will dedicate units for seniors, transitional housing, and families with low incomes.

New housing projects at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), have helped it become the first and only UC campus to guarantee housing for four years to first-year students and two years for transfer students. Last fall, more than 16,000 students in the UC and California State University systems were on waiting lists, with some forced to live in vans and motel rooms. While other UC schools struggled to keep up with housing needs, UCLA took advantage of an era of low interest rates and favorable financing terms to develop housing on existing land.