DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1481911
80 80 INVESTMENT GOVERNMENT PROPERTY PRESERVATION HUD RELEASES FMRS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023 e U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for Fiscal Year 2023. FMRs, published annually, are an estimate of the amount of money that would cover gross rents (rent and utility expenses) on 40% of the rental housing units in an area. Nationally, FMRs will increase by an average of approximately 10%, enabling more households with housing vouchers to access affordable, stable housing. For FY23, HUD is using private sector data to estimate changes in FMRs to address a temporary data availability challenge and to align with market conditions. e basic methodology that HUD uses to estimate FMRs remains the same. "One of the reasons that housing voucher holders are unable to use those vouchers is because the value of their vouchers has not kept up with rapid rent increases," said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. "ese new FMRs will make it easier for voucher holders facing this challenge to access affordable housing in most housing markets while expanding the range of housing opportunities available to households. e new FMRs reflect the reality of housing unaffordability for many households while supporting our efforts to improve affordability and accessibility for all Americans. HUD and the Biden-Harris Administration recognize the burdens of housing costs and are committed to expanding access to affordable housing through a wide range of necessary efforts, from boosting housing supply to providing more vouchers to help households with higher housing costs." Because rents have risen so quickly recently, voucher holders are increasingly unable to find units available to rent within HUD payment standards. e new FMR levels will enable the voucher program to keep up with rent increases in the private market. ese new FMRs will allow voucher holders to access and secure leases in more units so that they can benefit from the housing affordability and stability that vouchers provide. HUD is required by law to set FMRs every year. FMRs are used in several HUD programs, including to determine the maximum amount that a Housing Choice Voucher will cover. Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has repeatedly acted to help vulnerable renter households attain quality and stable housing. For example: » e American Rescue Plan and FY22 budget collectively provided nearly 100,000 new housing choice vouchers. is includes about 20,000 new flexible incremental housing choice vouchers that HUD expects to allocate via formula to most communities across the country. » e President's FY23 budget proposes 200,000 additional housing vouchers. » In June, HUD announced $43 million in FY21 funding to fund approximately 4,000 new incremental housing choice vouchers, or "Stability Vouchers," focused on people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, including in rural areas. » e American Rescue Plan also included $5 billion to create housing and services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and provided tens of billions of dollars for Emergency Rental Assistance, which improved housing stability for over 6 million unique households, including 700,000 HUD-assisted households. Due to significant interruptions in public data sources caused by COVID-19, HUD supplemented public data with data from private sources to ensure the accuracy of the FY23 FMRs. is methodological change—which incorporated public feedback through a notice of proposed changes—is only applicable to FY23. Calculating the FY23 FMRs in this way ensures that FMRs accurately reflect recent, steep rent increases in many communities and will make it easier for households in those communities to use their vouchers to rent affordable homes. GINNIE MAE MBS PORTFOLIO EXPANDS TO $2.3T Ginnie Mae's mortgage-backed securities outstanding portfolio grew for the 14th consecutive month in August, hitting $2.269 trillion, up from $2.248 trillion in July, and $2.119 trillion last year. is growth was fueled by steady new issuance of Ginnie Mae MBS as homeowners found value in the government-backed mortgage market. New MBS issuance for August was $43.1 billion, supporting the financing of more than 146,000 homeowners and renters. e August issuance includes $41.3 billion of Ginnie Mae II MBS and $1.73 billion of Ginnie Mae I MBS, including approximately $1.62 billion of loans for multifamily housing. is comes after Ginnie Mae's recent July MBS issuance for $45.5 billion, in efforts to support the financing of more than 155,000 single-family homes and rental units, which included $43 billion of Ginnie Mae II MBS, and $2.01 billion of Ginnie Mae I MBS—approximately $1.85 billion of loans for multifamily housing. "e current housing market continues to present serious affordability challenges for many households. e lack of affordable supply is exacerbated by markedly higher interest rates from a year ago," said Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo. "e growth in our MBS portfolio, however, shows continued participation in government-backed mortgage programs that provide access to credit for households that need lower down payments and affordable financing."