USDA Rural Development Obligations Cover

USDA Rural Development Obligations FY 22 – November

USDA Rural Development Obligations Report Cover - FY 2021

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents this month’s report on Fiscal Year 2022 USDA Rural Housing program obligations.

As of the end of November, USDA obligated 18,236 loans, loan guarantees, and grants totaling about $3.2 billion. This is $721 million less than obligation levels from this time last year. At that time, there were 23,321 loans, loan guarantees, and grants obligated totaling nearly $4 million.

Funding has been provided through a continuing resolution until December 3, 2021.

Single Family Housing Program Highlights

The Section 502 Guaranteed loan program, the largest of the Single Family Housing programs, obligated about $3 million (16,781 loan guarantees) less than last year’s $3.8 billion (21,758 loan guarantees.)

For the Section 502 Direct program, loan obligations totaled nearly $155 million (769 loans), a bit higher than last year’s obligation level of $142 million (756 loans.) About 32 percent of the loan dollars went to Very Low-income (VLI) applicants. VLI loans represented nearly 38 percent of the total number of Section 502 Direct loans.

The Section 504 Repair and Rehabilitation programs obligated 252 loans representing nearly $1.9 million. The number of loans was a bit lower than last year but the dollar obligations was higher (317 loans representing nearly $1.8 million.) There were also about $2.8 million (419 grants) obligated in the Section 504 grant program compared to nearly $3 million (478 grants) last year.

USDA’s Section 523 Self Help Housing Grant program funded 1 grant totaling $105,650 up from last year’s 5 grants and contracts totaling almost $3.5 million.

There were also 3 grants in the Section 306 C, Water and Waste Disposal program.

Multi-Family Housing Program Highlights

USDA’s Section 538 Multifamily Housing obligated 11 loan guarantees totaling over $27 million, higher than last year’s 7 loan guarantees (about $21.5 million.) In the Section 515 Rural Rental Housing program, there were 0 loans totaling $0 (including disaster assistance) obligated compared to 0 loans totaling $0 last year. No other Multifamily housing loans or grants have been obligated so far this year.

 

Download the combined document.

* The Rural Housing Service (RHS) monthly obligation reports are produced by the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 606, Washington, DC 20005. The monthly figures derive from HAC tabulations of USDA –RHS 205c, d, and f report data. For questions or comments about the obligation reports, please contact Michael Feinberg at 202-842-8600 or michael@ruralhome.org.

USDA Rural Development Obligations Cover

USDA Rural Development Obligations FY 22 – October

USDA Rural Development Obligations Report Cover - FY 2021

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents this month’s report on Fiscal Year 2022 USDA Rural Housing program obligations.

As of the end of October, USDA obligated 9,056 loans, loan guarantees, and grants totaling about $1.6 billion. This is nearly $311 million higher than obligation levels from this time last year. At that time, there were 11,071 loans, loan guarantees, and grants obligated totaling over $1.9 billion.

Funding has been provided through a continuing resolution until December 3, 2021.

Single Family Housing Program Highlights

The Section 502 Guaranteed loan program, the largest of the Single Family Housing programs, obligated $1.5 billion (8,436 loan guarantees), about $326 million (2,230 loan guarantees) less than last year’s $1.85 billion (10,666 loan guarantees.)

For the Section 502 Direct program, loan obligations totaled about $81.4 million (400 loans), nearly $11 million more than last year’s obligation level of $70.6 million (366 loans.) About 32 percent of the loan dollars went to Very Low-income (VLI) applicants. VLI loans represented over 39 percent of the total number of Section 502 Direct loans.

The Section 504 Repair and Rehabilitation programs obligated 80 loans representing $640 million. Loan volume was up from this time last year (36 loans representing $306 million.) There were also about $929 million (136 grants) obligated in the Section 504 grant program. No grants were obligated as of this time last year.

There were no other Single Family housing obligations in October.

Multi-Family Housing Program Highlights

USDA’s Section 538 Multifamily Housing obligated 4 loan guarantees totaling nearly $12 million, higher than last year’s 3 loan guarantees ($8.9 million.)

No other Multifamily funds obligated in October.

 

Download the combined document.

* The Rural Housing Service (RHS) monthly obligation reports are produced by the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 606, Washington, DC 20005. The monthly figures derive from HAC tabulations of USDA –RHS 205c, d, and f report data. For questions or comments about the obligation reports, please contact Michael Feinberg at 202-842-8600 or michael@ruralhome.org.

Learn More About Veterans in Your Community

Veterans Data Central is a simple, easy to use, on-line resource that provides essential information on the social, economic, and housing characteristics of veterans in the United States. The data and information available on Veterans Data Central can help support sound strategies and policies to help veterans. Now with newly updated data from the Census Bureau and other sources!

USDA Obligations FY 2021 Featured Image

USDA Rural Development Obligations FY 21 – September

USDA Rural Development Obligations Report Cover - FY 2021

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents this month’s report on Fiscal Year 2021 USDA Rural Housing program obligations.

As of the end of September, USDA obligated 139,227 loans, loan guarantees, and grants totaling about $24.2 billion, $354.0 million more than last year. At the end of last year, the agency obligated 151,876 loans, loan guarantees, and grants totaling $24.5 billion.

Single Family Housing Program Highlights

The Section 502 Guaranteed loan program, the largest of the Single Family Housing programs, obligated $22.7 billion (127,389 loan guarantees) compared to $23.0 billion (137,970 loan guarantees) last year.

For the Section 502 Direct program, loan obligations totaled $1.0 billion (5,355 loans), nearly the same dollar amount as last year’s obligation level of $1.0 billion but fewer loans (5,821 loans.) About 36 percent of the loan dollars went to Very Low-income (VLI) applicants. VLI loans represented over 43 percent of the total number of Section 502 Direct loans.

The Section 504 Repair and Rehabilitation programs obligated 2,289 loans representing $14.8 million less than last year (2,739 loans representing $16.6 million.) There were also about $24.6 million (3,709 grants) obligated in the Section 504 grant program compared to $31.5 million (4,842 grants) last year.

USDA’s Section 523 Self Help Housing Grant program funded 51 grants and contracts totaling $31.8 million a bit less than last year’s 55 grants and contracts totaling $32.8 million.

Multi-Family Housing Program Highlights

USDA’s Section 538 Multifamily Housing program obligated 96 loan guarantees totaling $229.9 million compared to last year’s 150 loan guarantees ($228.5 million.) The agency funded 44 Section 515 Rural Rental Housing loans totaling $37.4 million compared to 40 loans ($40.0 million) last year. There have been 142 loans and 5 grants obligated in the MPR program totaling $89.2 million and $251,778 this year compared to 80 loans and 3 grants representing $57.1 million and $988,734, respectively last year.

The Farm Labor Housing program funded 2 loans and 1 grant have been funded representing $3.1 million and $1.6 million respectively compared to 15 loans and 7 grants ($20.1 million and $8.9 million) last year.

USDA also funded 283,781 units under the Section 521 Rental Assistance program totaling $1.5 billion compared to about 241,208 units ($1.4 billion) last year. There were also 7,261 Rural Housing Vouchers totaling $34.6 million compared to last year’s 7,489 vouchers representing $34.5 million.

Download the combined document.

* The Rural Housing Service (RHS) monthly obligation reports are produced by the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 606, Washington, DC 20005. The monthly figures derive from HAC tabulations of USDA –RHS 205c, d, and f report data. For questions or comments about the obligation reports, please contact Michael Feinberg at 202-842-8600 or michael@ruralhome.org.

Policy News from Congress

Updated Sept. 14 – Rural Rental Housing and Repairs for Homeowners Included in Draft Bill

UPDATE September 14, 2021 – More rural housing funding has been added to the House Financial Services Committee’s portion of the reconciliation package. It now includes:

  • $4.36 billion for new construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of Section 515 rental housing and Section 514/516 farmworker housing;
  • $200 million for Section 521 Rental Assistance;
  • $70 million in budget authority for Section 502 direct homeownership loans (estimated to support loans totaling about $3.7 billion);
  • $95 million for Section 504 repair grants; and
  • $25 million for Section 523 self-help.

The bill sets no time limits for spending most of these funds, although the Rental Assistance money would expire on September 30, 2024.

Funding for HUD’s Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) was also added when the draft was revised. An additional $50 million would be available for SHOP over 10 years. As noted below, the bill provides substantial new funding for numerous HUD programs.

The Financial Services Committee began its consideration of the bill on September 13 and is continuing on September 14. The markup session will also consider a bill to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA), which would establish a new annual 5 percent setaside for tribes under USDA’s Section 502, 504, 515, 533, and 538 programs, as well as the Rural Utilities Service programs.

The Financial Service Committee’s portion of the reconciliation bill will be combined with pieces from other committees to create the full $3.5 trillion package. The House is expected to approve it. Then it will be considered in the Senate, where it needs only a majority vote to pass, but it is not yet clear whether enough Senators will vote for it.

 

September 9, 2021 – Congress’s $3.5 trillion reconciliation package includes $5 billion for USDA’s rural rental housing programs and $100 million for repairs to rural owner-occupied homes. The House Financial Services Committee released legislative text on September 9, providing details that were not previously available.

The $5 billion rural rental total would be used for new construction of Section 515 rental housing and 514/516 farmworker housing, and for preserving existing properties through the Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization program.

USDA’s Section 504 grant program, which covers the costs of health and safety repairs to owner-occupied homes in rural areas, would receive $100 million. These grants are usually available only to homeowners age 62 or older, but that age restriction would be waived for this pool of funds. The requirement that homeowners have very low incomes would remain in place.

The bill would also provide significant funding for numerous HUD programs including $35 billion for HOME and $8.5 billion for Community Development Block Grants. The colonias on the U.S.-Mexico border would receive a $1 billion setaside of CDBG funds.

The  Financial Services Committee will mark up this bill on September 13. (At the same session the committee will also consider two other bills, one to assist renters in the wake of the Supreme Court’s invalidation of the federal eviction moratorium, and one to reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act.)

All funds appropriated through the reconciliation bill would be in addition to the usual annual funding for these programs. Congress has not completed work on USDA’s or HUD’s annual appropriations for fiscal year 2022, which begins on October 1, 2021. The year is likely to begin with a continuing resolution holding programs at their FY21 levels.

USDA Obligations FY 2021 Featured Image

USDA Rural Development Obligations FY 21 – August

USDA Rural Development Obligations Report Cover - FY 2021

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents this month’s report on Fiscal Year 2021 USDA Rural Housing program obligations.

As of the end of August, USDA obligated 127,867 loans, loan guarantees, and grants totaling about $22 billion. This is $417 million above obligation levels from this time last year. At that time, there were 134,422 loans, loan guarantees, and grants obligated totaling $21.6 billion.

Federal agencies operated under a series of short-term continuing resolutions (CR) for most of the first quarter of FY 2021. A final CR was signed into law on December 27, 2020 which provides funding for the remainder of the fiscal year. Since March 20, 2020, USDA offices have been operating from remote locations due to the COVID-19 virus.

Single Family Housing Program Highlights

The Section 502 Guaranteed loan program, the largest of the Single Family Housing programs, obligated $20.9 billion (117,579 loan guarantees) up from this time last year’s nearly $20.3 billion (121,671 loan guarantees).

For the Section 502 Direct program, loan obligations totaled $935 million (5,004 loans), a bit less than last year’s obligation level of $990 million (5,738 loans.) About 37 percent of the loan dollars went to Very Low-income (VLI) applicants. VLI loans represented nearly 44 percent of the total number of Section 502 Direct loans.

The Section 504 Repair and Rehabilitation programs obligated 1,961 loans representing $12.4 million. Loan volume was below this time last year (2,376 loans representing $14.4 million.) There were also about $21 million (3,189 grants) obligated in the Section 504 grant program compared to $27.7 million (4,248 grants) last year.

USDA’s Section 523 Self Help Housing Grant program funded 36 grants and contracts totaling over $24.9 million compared to last year’s 35 grants and contracts totaling $29.3 million.

Multi-Family Housing Program Highlights

USDA’s Section 538 Multifamily Housing program obligated 64 loan guarantees totaling $153.8 million compared to last year’s 136 loan guarantees ($216.9 million.) One Section 515 Rural Rental Housing loan has been funded so far this year compared to 29 loans representing $31.7 million last year. In the MPR program, no loans or grants have been obligated so far this year. Last year, there were 38 loans and 5 grants obligated representing $44 million and $251,778 respectively last year.

Two Farm Labor Housing loans totaling $3.1 million, and no grants have been obligated so far this year. Last year at this time, 14 loans and 6 grants were obligated ($19.8 million and $6.2 million, respectively.)

USDA obligated funds for 197,018 rental assistance units under the Section 521 Rental Assistance program totaling over $1.1 billion. This compares to about 186,940 units (almost $1.1 billion) obligated same time last year. There were also 6,671 Rural Housing Vouchers totaling $32 million compared to 6,693 vouchers representing $30.9 million this time last year.

Download the combined document.

* The Rural Housing Service (RHS) monthly obligation reports are produced by the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 606, Washington, DC 20005. The monthly figures derive from HAC tabulations of USDA –RHS 205c, d, and f report data. For questions or comments about the obligation reports, please contact Michael Feinberg at 202-842-8600 or michael@ruralhome.org.

USDA Obligations FY 2021 Featured Image

USDA Rural Development Obligations FY 21 – July

USDA Rural Development Obligations Report Cover - FY 2021

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents this month’s report on Fiscal Year 2021 USDA Rural Housing program obligations.

As of the end of July, USDA obligated 117,200 loans, loan guarantees, and grants totaling about $20.2 billion. This is nearly $3.9 billion more than obligation levels from this time last year. At that time, there were 103,122 loans, loan guarantees, and grants obligated totaling nearly $16.4 billion.

Federal agencies operated under a series of short-term continuing resolutions (CR) for most of the first quarter of FY 2021. A final CR was signed into law on December 27, 2020 which provides funding for the remainder of the fiscal year. Since March 20, 2020, USDA offices have been operating from remote locations due to the COVID-19 virus.

Single Family Housing Program Highlights

The Section 502 Guaranteed loan program, the largest of the Single Family Housing programs, obligated approximately $19.2 billion (108,193 loan guarantees) up from last year’s $15.3 billion ( 93,226 loan guarantees) this time.

For the Section 502 Direct program, loan obligations totaled $826.7 million (4,409 loans), a bit higher than last year’s obligation level of $742.2 million (4,310 loans.)

About 36 percent of the loan dollars went to Very Low-income (VLI) applicants. VLI loans represented over 42 percent of the total number of Section 502 Direct loans.

The Section 504 Repair and Rehabilitation programs obligated 1,700 loans representing almost $10.6 million. Loan volume was up from this time last year (1,912 loans representing about $11.6 million.) There were also about $18.3 million (2,784 grants) obligated in the Section 504 grant program compared to approximately $22.4 million (3,474 grants) last year.

USDA’s Section 523 Self Help Housing Grant program funded 30 grants and contracts totaling nearly $20.4 million compared to last year’s 19 grants and contracts totaling over $22.6 million.

Multi-Family Housing Program Highlights

USDA’s Section 538 Multifamily Housing program obligated 58 loan guarantees totaling almost $149.0 million compared to last year’s 96 loan guarantees ($156.7 million.) No Section 515 Rural Rental Housing program have been funded so far this year, similar to last year at this time. No loans or 5 grants have been obligated so far this year in the MPR program totaling $0 and $251,778 this year compared to 28 loans and 3 grants representing nearly $30.0 million and $988,734, respectively last year.

No Farm Labor Housing loans or grants have been funded so far this year. Last year at this time, 14 loans and 5 grants were obligated (about $19.8 million 794,577 and nearly $5.9 million, respectively.)

USDA obligated funds for 195,414 rental assistance units under the Section 521 Rental Assistance program totaling over $1.1 billion. This compares to about 178,225 units (over $1.0 billion) obligated same time last year. There were also 6,228 Rural Housing Vouchers totaling about $30.0 million compared to 5,700 vouchers representing over $26.4 million this time last year.

Download the combined document.

* The Rural Housing Service (RHS) monthly obligation reports are produced by the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 606, Washington, DC 20005. The monthly figures derive from HAC tabulations of USDA –RHS 205c, d, and f report data. For questions or comments about the obligation reports, please contact Michael Feinberg at 202-842-8600 or michael@ruralhome.org.

USDA Obligations FY 2021 Featured Image

USDA Rural Development Obligations FY 21 – June

USDA Rural Development Obligations Report Cover - FY 2021

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) presents this month’s report on Fiscal Year 2021 USDA Rural Housing program obligations.

As of the end of June, USDA obligated 106,072 loans, loan guarantees, and grants totaling about $18.3 billion. This is $1.9 billion higher than obligation levels from this time last year. At that time, there were 103,122 loans, loan guarantees, and grants obligated totaling nearly $16.4 billion.

Federal agencies operated under a series of short-term continuing resolutions (CR) for most of the first quarter of FY 2021. A final CR was signed into law on December 27, 2020 which provides funding for the remainder of the fiscal year. Since March 20, 2020, USDA offices have been operating from remote locations due to the COVID-19 virus.

Single Family Housing Program Highlights

The Section 502 Guaranteed loan program, the largest of the Single Family Housing programs, obligated almost $17.4 billion (98,173 loan guarantees) up from over $15.3 billion (93,226 loan guarantees) this time last year.

For the Section 502 Direct program, loan obligations totaled over $712.2 million (3,822 loans), a bit less than last year’s obligation level of $742.2 million (4,310 loans.) About 36 percent of the loan dollars went to Very Low-income (VLI) applicants. VLI loans represented nearly 43 percent of the total number of Section 502 Direct loans.

The Section 504 Repair and Rehabilitation programs obligated 1,511 loans representing $9.4 million. Loan volume was down from this time last year (1,912 loans representing $11.6 million.) There were 2,458 grants totaling about $16.1 million obligated in the Section 504 grant program compared to $22.4 million (3,474 grants) last year.

USDA’s Section 523 Self Help Housing Grant program funded 28 grants and contracts totaling $16.9 million, up from last year’s 19 grants and contracts but less than the total of $22.6 million.

Multi-Family Housing Program Highlights

USDA’s Section 538 Multifamily Housing program obligated 56 loan guarantees totaling about $145.3 million compared to last year’s 96 loan guarantees. No Section 515 Rural Rental Housing program have been funded so far this year, similar to last year at this time. There have been no loans or grants obligated in the MPR program so far this year compared to 28 loans and 3 grants representing $29.9 million and nearly $990 thousand, respectively last year.

No Farm Labor Housing loans or grants have been funded so far this year. Last year at this time, 14 loans and 5 grants were obligated (about $19.8 million and $5.9 million, respectively.)

USDA obligated funds for 171,799 rental assistance units under the Section 521 Rental Assistance program totaling over $998.4 million. This compares to about 178,225 units (over $1 billion) obligated same time last year. There were also 5,732 Rural Housing Vouchers totaling $27.7 million  compared to 5,700 vouchers representing $26.4 million this time last year.

Download the combined document.

* The Rural Housing Service (RHS) monthly obligation reports are produced by the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) 1025 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 606, Washington, DC 20005. The monthly figures derive from HAC tabulations of USDA –RHS 205c, d, and f report data. For questions or comments about the obligation reports, please contact Michael Feinberg at 202-842-8600 or michael@ruralhome.org.

How HAC’s Loan Application Packaging Training Supports Homeownership

The State of The Nation’s Housing – 2021

Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies - 2021 Cover

Even as the US economy continues to recover, the inequalities amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic remain front and center. Households that weathered the crisis without financial distress are snapping up the limited supply of homes for sale, pushing up prices and further excluding less affluent buyers from homeownership. At the same time, millions of households that lost income during the shutdowns are behind on their housing payments and on the brink of eviction or foreclosure. A disproportionately large share of these at-risk households are renters with low incomes and people of color. While policymakers have taken bold steps to prop up consumers and the economy, additional government support will be necessary to ensure that all households benefit from the expanding economy.

HAC is a proud sponsor of Harvard’s State of the Nation’s Housing report.