After a natural disaster, Congress often appropriates long-term recovery funding through HUD's Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. This study is examining housing recovery activities, funded by CDBG-DR, to determine what factors contribute to the rapid implementation and completion of those activities. The study will help HUD and disaster recovery practitioners to identify best practices that help affected communities' recovery more quickly.
HUD granted three awards to conduct research and demonstration on accessible housing and technology, making awards to Auburn University, Home Innovations Research Lab, and the University of Florida, totaling $2 million. The grants will conduct studies on innovations that can be used in the design and construction of affordable, accessible and aesthetically pleasing housing, including technological adaptations. Each of the awardees will identify, evaluate, and test the home modifications and technology innovations necessary to make existing housing accessible. Each grantee will use a combination of multiple testing protocols including lab construction of room layouts, virtual reality technology, interdisciplinary advisory teams, and focus groups. Research results will be summarized in reports, and used in the development and dissemination of tools for homeowners, care givers, and architects, builders and remodelers to renovate existing housing for accessible features, including technology. HUD will be publishing final reports between April and June 2022, while material may be developed and posted electronically during the course of the work.
The objective of this project is to facilitate the preparation of AHS data and documentation for the survey's users, both inside and outside HUD; prepare the Components of Inventory Change (CINCH) and Rental Dynamics reports; prepare the HUD Assisted Renters and Their Units reports; prepare and update the AHS bibliography; and highlight the special features of the AHS by investigating housing issues of current concern.
Congress, in its FY16 senate report, provided $900,000 and instructed HUD to "Assess" HUD's TA programs. The project will evaluate the program performance and outcomes of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Technical Assistance (TA) programs under the Community Compass structure. Beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, HUD made significant changes to its TA programs' structure, delivery process, and data and reporting systems to encourage coordination across programs and TA delivery. The Urban Institute team will conduct an assessment to determine if the Community Compass process is efficient and effective across HUD's TA programs, and results in the desired outcomes. To do so, our analysis will include reconnaissance with HUD TA program staff and external TA experts, administrative data analysis, in-depth interviews conducted with TA providers and customers, and case studies of high-priority TA projects. The findings will inform the efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of HUD TA under the Community Compass structure. The final report was due out in August of 2020.
The Choice Neighborhoods Program, also referred to as "Choice," leverages public and private dollars to support locally driven strategies that address struggling neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation. Local leaders, residents, and stakeholders come together to create and implement a plan that revitalizes distressed HUD housing and addresses the challenges in the surrounding neighborhood. The program helps communities transform neighborhoods by revitalizing severely distressed public and/or assisted housing and catalyzing critical improvements in the neighborhood, including vacant properties, housing, businesses, services, and schools. In 2015, PD&R completed an evaluation of the first round of Choice Implementation Grant awardees: the Quincy Corridor neighborhood in Boston, the Woodlawn neighborhood in Chicago, the Iberville/Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, the Eastern Bayview neighborhood in San Francisco, and the Yesler neighborhood in Seattle. In late 2019, PD&R initiated a follow-up evaluation of these same grantees. This evaluation will include surveys, collection of qualitative data, and analysis of administrative data to assess long-term outcomes and understand how Choice affected People, Housing, and Neighborhood.
CINCH reports measure changes in the characteristics of the U.S. housing stock. Using data collected in the American Housing Survey (which is conducted every 2 years), the characteristics of individual housing units are compared across time. This comparison allows researchers to see not only changes in the characteristics of housing units but also in the characteristics of occupants. Information is available on the characteristics of units added and removed from the housing stock.
Each report has two sections. The first, labeled "Losses," shows losses to the housing stock in a given 2-year period using the first as the base year. In other words, the first section shows the disposition of all units that were present at the beginning of the period. The second section, labeled "Gains," shows gains in the housing stock during the 2-year period, using the second year of the period as the base year. That is to say, the second section shows the source of all units that were present at the end of the period. CINCH reports are published every other year and describe changes in the housing stock between the years when the American Housing Survey is conducted.
Rental Dynamics reports examine changes in the rental housing market with particular emphasis on the affordability of rental housing. Using data from the American Housing Surveys conducted during the two years under consideration, it answers such questions as: "Have the number of rental units affordable to households with very low incomes increased or decreased over the period?" or "What happened to the rental units that were affordable to low-income households at the beginning of the period?"
Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis (CHMA) reports, available through the U.S. Housing Market Conditions portal site on www.huduser.gov, assist and guide HUD in its operations and have proven useful to builders, mortgagees, and others concerned with local housing condition trends. For each analysis, field economists develop a factual framework based on information available, as of a particular date, from both local and national sources. Each analysis takes into consideration changes in the economic, demographic, and housing inventory characteristics of a specific housing market
area during three periods: from 2000 to 2010, from 2010 to the as-of date of the analysis, and from the as-of date to a 3-year forecast date. CHMA reports focus on major metropolitan housing markets, as well as smaller markets with significant FHA multifamily loan activity. 2017 Report Posted.
In 1995, HUD created the Consolidated Plan to serve as the combined planning document (Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy and Community Development Plan) required from state or local governments participating in several large HUD grant programs. The Consolidated Plan is designed to help grantees assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions. To support this process, PD&R works with the Census Bureau to produce a custom dataset (the CHAS data) with information on housing needs-particularly the housing needs of low- and moderate-income households.
The CHAS data were updated in 2009 to rely on the Census Bureau's new annual survey, the American Community Survey (ACS), and have been produced every year since then. PD&R also works with HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) to make the CHAS data accessible to grantees preparing their Consolidated Plans. The CHAS data are included in CPD Maps and the eCon Planning Suite; new applications created by HUD to streamline the Consolidated Plan process and provide HUD grantees with a common platform for data-driven decision-making. Updated data are typically released each year around May.
Launched in July 2015, the HUD eGIS Storefront is a self-service resource for accessing HUD's geospatial datasets, application programming interfaces (APIs), web-based mapping tools, and other eGIS initiatives. It provides internal and external customers with one-stop shopping for agency-wide geospatial data resources and GIS mapping tools by coordinating and centralizing geospatial data, applications, and documentation previously scattered on HUD User, HUD's eGIS Portal, and various SharePoint sites. There are currently 96 geospatial data sets hosted on the site, which represent core mission data valuable to researchers, grantees, and other stakeholders. The site also provides links to application tools, data dictionaries, and code examples to facilitate user navigation of APIs to incorporate HUD geospatial data directly into their own applications.
Launched in 2017, EnVision Centers are intended to help persons achieve self-sufficiency through accessible and integrated services that are collocated within a centralized, brick and mortar hub. HUD has partnered with the Federal Research Division at the Library of Congress to evaluate the implementation and operation efforts of EnVision Centers. This evaluation will conduct in-depth interviews with key local stakeholders from at least 18 EnVision Centers to understand core program areas that include: intake and data collection, outreach, services and partnerships, and capacity needs. A final report will include a literature review of programs offering collocated services, a summary of interview findings and analysis, and case studies of selected sites.
Fiscal Year 2016 Appropriations language directed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to expand the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration program by adding 100 public housing agencies (PHA) to the program over a 7-year period. PHAs will be added to the MTW program in cohorts, with each cohort being subject to rigorous evaluation by HUD. HUD/PD&R has awarded a contract to Abt Associates to conduct the evaluation of the first cohort of MTW expansion PHAs. The first cohort of MTW expansion agencies will explore how small PHAs use the flexibility offered by their new MTW designation to achieve the statutory objectives of the MTW program and what the consequences of that flexibility are for housing authority operations and tenants. The project will also support the development a set of performance outcome measures using administrative data that will allow HUD to monitor the progress of MTW agencies towards the statutory objectives of the program over time. The contract will be in operation from September 2018 through September 2023.
The Moving-to-Work Demonstration created in 1996 includes 39 public housing agencies that are allowed to innovate in the provision of housing assistance to pursue statutory goals of cost-effectiveness, self-sufficiency, and increased housing choice. This evaluation is intended to describe MTW agencies in comparison to traditional agencies in terms of activities and outcomes. Guiding evaluation research questions include: What are the MTW agencies doing? What are the risks and opportunities inherent in their flexibilities? How many households are they serving, at what level of affordability, for how long, and at what cost? What have agency activities accomplished in terms of self-sufficiency, housing choice, and cost effectiveness? Several reports on the findings of this evaluation will be published in 2020, including reports on MTW fund flexibility, the impact of rent reform a the Santa Clara County Housing Authority, the uses of project-based vouchers, the characteristics of households served by MTW agencies, self-sufficiency and housing choice outcomes, and the cost effectiveness of MTW agencies.
This Research Partnership grant has been awarded to the Urban Institute and their partner, The Lab @ DC, to evaluate the first year implementation of the DC Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program (DC Flex). DC Flex is designed to test whether shallow (smaller than the average subsidy, over a defined period) and flexible subsidies can help more families maintain affordable, adequate housing. The pilot program has been funded by the District of Columbia and offers a flexible rent subsidy with an annual cash value of $7,200 per year to up to 125 D.C. households for a program period of four years. The flexible rent subsidy structure enables households to determine the value of the rental subsidy on a month-by-month basis based on the financial circumstances of the household in any given month. A report documenting the process of implementing the pilot program and initial year program outcomes is expected to be published in winter 2021.
This combined program demonstration was designed to be implemented by public housing authorities (PHAs) that offer both Family Unification Program (FUP) vouchers and Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) services. Removing the shorter time limit on the FUP vouchers for youth and adding case management services through the FSS program were two means for improving outcomes for youth aging out of foster care. As such, the evaluation is meant to assess how well this program fulfills the intent to serve these youth as well as the effectiveness of partnerships between the PHAs and the public child welfare agencies and other youth-focused organizations with whom they partner to deliver services. The evaluation is currently underway and will assess the implementation and short-term efficacy of the demonstration. A final report is expected in spring 2021.
The U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Justice (DOJ) have entered into an inter-agency collaboration that combines DOJ's mission to promote safer communities by focusing on the reentry population with HUD's mission to end chronic homelessness. In October 2015, the first deliverable from the collaboration was a NOFA to fund a demonstration of a Pay for Success initiative implementing the Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) model for a reentry jail population (hereafter PFS Demonstration NOFA) to demonstrate whether a pay-for-success framework is a cost effective way to scale-up PSH model. Together, HUD-DOJ seek to assess whether providing permanent supportive housing within a pay-for-success (PFS) framework is an efficacious and cost-effective approach to addressing the housing needs of reentrants experiencing homelessness either immediately following release from jail or shortly thereafter. The purpose of this research is to conduct a formative evaluation that documents and analyzes the performance of PFS Demonstration NOFA grantees and the partnerships they form across the pay-for-success lifecycle for implementation. Multiple reports and documents have been published, including Pay for Success Infographic, Baseline Report, and Data Use and Challenges in Using Pay for Success to Implement Permanent Supportive Housing: Lessons From the HUD-DOJ Demonstration. Forthcoming reports include a Year 2 Annual Report and updated infographic expected in fall 2020, a Year 3 Annual Report expected in winter 2020, and a final report covering years four and five of the demonstration in 2022.
HUD' Supportive Services Demonstration, also known as Integrated Wellness in Supportive Housing (IWISH), is a three-year demonstration to test a model of housing and supportive services for HUD-assisted elderly residents. IWISH aims to promote aging in place and improve housing stability, wellbeing, health outcomes, and reduce unnecessary or avoidable healthcare utilization associated with high healthcare costs. IWISH consists of a housing-based team of a full-time Resident Wellness Director and half-time Wellness Nurse who will adopt a standard and formal strategy to assess residents' needs and coordinate health and social services. IWISH is being implemented in forty Multifamily housing sites across seven states.
HUD has a designed a cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) to rigorously evaluate IWISH. Eligible elderly-restricted or elderly-designated Multifamily properties were randomly assigned to a treatment group that will implement the IWISH model or control group that will continue business-as-usual, which includes varying degrees of ongoing service coordination. The evaluation includes process and impact studies: The process study will assess fidelity to the IWISH model, document successes and challenges to implementation, and answer important questions related to resident health, wellbeing, and housing. The impact study will link HUD and Medicare/Medicaid claims data to measure the impacts of IWISH on healthcare utilization and housing stability. The evaluation will be completed in spring 2022.
The objective of this project is to upgrade and expand HUD's Fair Housing Design Manual. The contractor will review the current 1989 edition of the Fair Housing Act Design Manual and make revisions necessary to ensure it is consistent with current design practice and building codes. This revised and updated edition will provide clear and helpful guidance about ways to design and construct housing which complies with the Fair Housing Act. It will explain the accessibility requirements of the Act, which must be incorporated into the design and construction of multifamily housing covered by the Act.
Fair Market Rents (FMRs) are primarily used to determine payment standard amounts for the Housing Choice Voucher program, to determine initial renewal rents for some expiring project-based Section 8 contracts, to determine initial rents for housing assistance payment (HAP) contracts in the Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program (Mod Rehab), to serve as a rent ceiling in the HOME rental assistance program, and in the calculation of maximum award amounts for Continuum of Care grantees. HUD annually estimates FMRs for each metropolitan area, parts of some metropolitan areas, and each metropolitan county. By law, the final FMRs for use in any fiscal year must be published and available for use at the start of that fiscal year (October 1).
FMRs are gross rent estimates. They include the shelter rent plus the cost of all tenant-paid utilities, except telephones, cable or satellite television service, and Internet service. HUD sets FMRs to assure that a sufficient supply of rental housing is available to program participants. To accomplish this objective, FMRs must be both high enough to permit a selection of units and neighborhoods, and low enough to serve as many low-income families as possible. The level at which FMRs are set is expressed as a percentile point within the rent distribution of standard-quality rental housing units. The current definition used is the 40th percentile rent, the dollar amount below which 40 percent of the standard-quality rental housing units are rented. The 40th percentile rent is drawn from the distribution of rents of all units occupied by recent movers (renter households who moved to their present residence within the past 15 months). HUD is required to ensure that FMRs exclude non-market rental housing in their computation. Therefore, HUD excludes all units falling below a specified rent level determined from public housing rents in HUD's program databases as likely to be either assisted housing or otherwise at a below-market rent, and units less than 2 years old.
PD&R has a memorandum of understanding with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Per the MOU, HUD has agreed to geocode NCHS survey responses. In return, NCHS has agreed to link administrative records for HUD-assisted individuals with respondents to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). These national surveys provide timely information on a range of health indicators, including health status and access to health care. HUD and NCHS has already released linked data for the following survey years: 1999-2016. Several publications using the linked data have already been published and a number of research projects are pending publication.
HUD has updated the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) database annually since the mid-1990s to include new and rehabilitated properties placed in service. Initially, this data was collected by a contractor that worked closely with the state allocating agencies to compile the information. Following the passage of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) in 2008, and in keeping with its mandate that the state housing finance agencies (HFAs) provide HUD demographic and economic data on tenants in LIHTC units, PD&R began collecting LIHTC property and tenant information directly. The property data are available through an interactive query system at LIHTC.huduser.gov. Data are updated annually, usually in the summer. The tenant data are not yet immediately available internally or externally because initially, most state agencies were unable to report complete data on their LIHTC tenants, and also due to the lack of funds needed to develop a system through which states could do so. PD&R is currently developing a database system for gathering the data and creating reports, but this system is not yet operational.
The Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) was established by Congress in 2012 with the goals of preserving the affordability of federally assisted properties and improving their physical and financial condition. The program allows RAD-converted properties to access private and public funding sources to address capital needs. PD&R awarded a research grant to New York University's Furman Center to examine the impact of RAD conversions on children's residential mobility, health, and well-being. The study will examine the universe of 36 public housing developments that have converted through RAD in the state of New York housing 7,000+ children, as of September 2019. Using state Medicaid claims data, state-wide eviction data, and HUD PIC data, the study will examine resident mobility rates and patterns, evictions, five specific health-sensitive health conditions (asthma, respiratory infections, allergies, injuries, and anxiety/depression), a composite index of housing-sensitive conditions, and emergency department visits and hospitalizations. The study will be completed in 2023.
The U.S. Housing Act of 1937 requires that HUD set income limits that determine the eligibility of applicants for HUD's assisted housing programs. One of the major active assisted housing programs is the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8). HUD's Section 8 Income Limits begin with the production of Median Family Income (MFI) estimates. HUD uses Section 8's FMR area definitions in developing MFI estimates; therefore, HUD develops income estimates for each metropolitan area, parts of some metropolitan areas, and each nonmetropolitan county. HUD calculates Section 8 Income Limits for every FMR area, with adjustments for family size and for areas that have unusually high or low income-to-housing-cost relationships. Numerous other federal, state, and local programs rely on HUD's Income Limits. The most notable of these programs, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, uses a combination of HUD's Section 8 Income Limits and a special set of Income Limits mandated by the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act to determine whether families are eligible to occupy LIHTC units. These income limits also govern the maximum rental rates for LIHTC units.
HUD/PD&R is seeking to increase the office's capacity to carry out a coordinated and impactful portfolio of in-house research. As a first step in building an infrastructure to support both the staff that engage in in-house research, as well as the processes that would ensure that these types of research efforts are meaningful, fruitful, and oriented to achieve a clearly defined outcome, this project will gather information about the in-house research protocols already in place at other Federal agencies. A set of recommendations for HUD/PD&R management regarding how to best structure our in-house research efforts will be distilled from the various models observed in other Federal agencies. These recommendations are expected to be presented to HUD/PD&R management in the fall 2019.
The Jobs Plus program develops locally-based, job-driven approaches that increase earnings and advance employment outcomes for residents of public housing. The Jobs Plus program comprises three core components: Employment-Related Services, Financial Incentives, and Community Supports for Work.
HUD's Jobs Plus Outcomes Evaluation will assess whether Jobs Plus is effective as the program is widely replicated, measure long-term impacts, and also help understand what factors affect success and can inform continuous improvement. The study will conduct an outcomes evaluation that will document the impact of the Jobs Plus Initiative on the work effort and the earned income of the residents who live in the 24 Jobs Plus Initiative developments. Secondary objectives of this effort include an analysis of the structure of the JPEID, as well as an analysis of the long-term impacts of the original HUD-funded Jobs-Plus program and the HUD replication sites. Projected completion in September 2021.
The work performed under this task order involves an assessment of more recent literature, models, and data on the relationship between land use regulations and affordable housing, focusing on efforts to quantify the costs associated with those regulations. The team will address two key research questions: (1) What tools and techniques have been developed to analyze the of impact of land use and housing development regulations on the cost of housing, and (2) Which of these tools and/or techniques would best serve HUD's goal of reducing regulatory barriers to increase access to affordable housing? To answer these questions, Team will conduct a literature review on the impact of land use regulations on access to affordable housing and evaluate the available analytical tools that attempt to quantify the regulations' cost. In addition, the Team will submit an Interim Report and a Final Report that will make recommendations regarding which tool would best meet HUD's goal of reducing the cost of excessive and burdensome land use regulations.
As one of the terms of a settlement agreement under the Thompson litigation in the Baltimore metropolitan area, PD&R is required to initiate an in-house update of the neighborhood opportunity index previously used under that lawsuit. PD&R staff have reviewed the literature in this area and find some deficiencies with respect to theory, methods, and evidence. We propose some improvements. A draft paper is available for comment for interested members of the public, with the understanding that the draft does not represent HUD's position at this time.
This report is produced monthly, with quarterly regional spotlight content provided by PD&R field economists and other HUD staff (CPD). The Scorecard presents key statistics from the monthly Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) reports and FHA loan modifications, as well as key housing market indicators such as mortgage finance costs and home sales and prices. Regional spotlights include narrative discussion of local initiatives funded through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) and Hardest Hit Fund (HHF).
HUD is expanding the Moving to Work Demonstration, designating 100 new MTW PHAs by 2022. HUD will designate new MTW PHAs in cohorts, with each cohort focused on building evidence around a particular policy. MTW Expansion Cohort 2 is expected to test alternative rules for calculating rents in HUD-assisted housing, such as tiered rents and stepped rents. PD&R will oversee a randomized control trial that estimates how these new rent policies affect the income and housing stability of participating households, as well as how the policies affect PHA budgets and administration. As of 2020, this demonstration is still in the planning stages.
HUD is expanding the Moving to Work Demonstration, designating 100 new MTW PHAs by 2022. HUD will designate new MTW PHAs in cohorts, with each cohort focused on building evidence around a particular policy. MTW Expansion Cohort 4 will examine landlord incentives within the Housing Choice Voucher program. PD&R will oversee an evaluation to determine whether the landlord incentives achieve their intended effect. As of 2021, this project is still in the planning stages.
The team continues its analysis of the Family Self-Sufficiency program at Years 4 and 5 post random assignment. Under Option 1, the analysts will prepare an updated Data Collection and Analysis Plan (DCAP). Building off the existing RDDCAP for the original base contract, the team will update the document to reflect the data collection and analysis for 2 new phases of work: Option 1, and Option 2. The DCAP will include an analysis plan that describes the longer-term study activities through 2021. The newer analysis will involve a predictive analysis to understand program participation. Under Option 1, the analysis plan includes an examination of Experian credit data, continued tracking of NDNH earning data, additional subgroup analysis, and a benefit-cost analysis (BCA). At the end of Option Period 1, we will publish a fourth report on the impact findings.
This study will focus on evaluating the effectiveness of the Office of Lead Housing Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH)'s Older Adult Home Modification Grant Program (OAHM). The evaluation consists of two parts (1) a process evaluation to assess how well the grantees implement the OAHM program and (2) an impact evaluation to track the health outcomes of beneficiaries whose homes are modified. The process evaluation will include how the grant was implemented, including what challenges, barriers, and successes the grantees experience, as well as a survey of how the beneficiaries' perceived the process of working with the grantees. The impact evaluation will measure changes in the beneficiaries' activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs); reductions in at-home falls, hospitalizations, and emergency response calls; improvements in independence; and recipients' tenure in their home over time. A final report is expected to be published in Spring 2025.
Initially issued only as a hard copy report, the Picture of Subsidized Households and its accompanying set of data files provide essential statistics on the characteristics of families that participate in HUD rental subsidy programs. This study is widely used by researchers and the public, and is one of HUD's primary tools for disseminating information on the beneficiaries of rental subsidy programs at the national, state, county, public housing agency (PHA), project, and census tract levels. Full data extracts can be downloaded and place-specific queries can be generated at the Picture of Subsidized Households website, which includes recently released 2016 data.
There are two parts to this report. This first will be a brief report on the status of Public Housing program. The report will describe the following aspects - administering agencies, number of units and households served, location of assisted households such as concentration of assisted households, household composition such as elderly, disabled, families with children, incomes of public housing tenants like sources of income, income distribution in relation to HUD income limits, length of stay in the program. This will also describe selected financial conditions of the Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) administering the public housing program as well transitions due to programs like the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD). The second part is to provide a time series on selected characteristics such as changes in number of units, household composition, race and ethnicity, income distribution and what PHAs incurred transitions due to RAD.
In another effort to advance the federal-wide Open Government Initiative, in February 2012, HUD launched its Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) database, a public database to help the research community better understand the characteristics of households receiving assistance under the Department's main rental programs. PUMS includes household-level data for 5 percent of households assisted through the Housing Choice Voucher, Public Housing, Section 8 Project-Based Rental, and the Section 202/811 programs. The PUMS samples include data on household characteristics as well as geographic details about where tenants live. With this household-level dataset, researchers can calculate results and statistical relationships at levels of demographic or geographic detail not available in HUD's tabular reports. Data for 2009, 2010, and 2012 through 2018 are currently available. HUD intends to release annual updates.
Renewal Funding Inflation Factors are used in the allocation of Housing Choice Voucher funds among Public Housing Agencies. Prior to FY 2012, these factors were called Renewal Funding Annual Adjustment Factors. In the FY 2012 HUD Appropriations bill, Congress changed the name of these factors in recognition of HUD's new methodology for calculating the factors, which now take advantage of ongoing PD&R research aimed at better understanding the drivers of change in per-unit-costs (PUC) in the voucher program. Renewal Funding Inflation Factors have been developed to account for the expected annual change in average PUC in the voucher program using historical program data, coupled with several economic indices used to capture key components of the economic climate which also assist in explaining the changes in PUC.
The HUD Rent Reform Demonstration is designed to test whether an alternative rent structure could incentivize increased employment and earnings for families receiving housing subsidies through the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, and whether there is corresponding administrative cost savings to the public housing agencies (PHAs) implementing the new rent structure. In 2015 and 2016, the demonstration was implemented at select Moving to Work (MTW) sites, because these sites provide a natural laboratory for experimentation and observation of rent reform strategies. A long-term follow-up survey on the full sample of 6,665 study participants was completed in December 2019. Baseline, early effects, and interim findings reports have been published. Another interim report that analyzes the long-term follow-up survey results and administrative data through the first triennial recertification is expected in late 2020. The Demonstration has been extended through the second triennial recertification with a final impact report expected in 2023.
The Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) is a central part of HUD's strategy to preserve and improve affordable rental housing. RAD is designed to provide stable public funding to assisted housing projects, increase the ability of those projects to access private capital, and enhance the long-term viability of converted projects. PD&R is evaluating the implementation and outcomes of the RAD program in different ways.
First, PD&R contracted an evaluation of the RAD program that focused on the conversion of public housing projects. The evaluation described the types of projects that participated in RAD and associated activities, such as the level of rehabilitation activity, the extent of resident relocation, and the reliance on various financing sources. The evaluation also measured outcomes for RAD projects and compared those outcomes to similar projects that did not participate in RAD. An interim report was published in September 2016 and the final report was published in October 2019. These and future reports are available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/RAD_Evaluation.html
Second, PD&R contracted a follow-up evaluation of the RAD program that will assess the implementation and outcomes of the RAD choice mobility option; the long-term impact of RAD on the preservation of the former public housing properties; and the asset management practices used to monitor the RAD-converted portfolio. PD&R will also evaluate PHA's organizational change and additional RAD tenant outcomes. Final results from this follow-up evaluation are expected in 2022.
Finally, PD&R is funding research grants to examine the effects of RAD on children living in public housing. The first research grant was awarded to Columbia University and focused on Fresco, California. The report was published in March 2020 and is available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/RADEvaluationFresno.html. PD&R awarded two new research grants to New York University and to the University of North Carolina. The studies will be completed in 2023.
HUD's annual appropriations for fiscal year (FY) 2014 included funding to support an evaluation of the Resident Opportunity and Supportive Services-Service Coordinator (ROSS-SC) program. HUD is interested in improving the Department's understanding of the programs that have been established by ROSS-SC grantees, the role and activities of the service coordinators themselves (including the types of case management systems (electronic or otherwise) used by service coordinators to track their clients' progress and to report to HUD), and the breadth of activities that service coordinators have accessed for the benefit of program participants. The objective of this research is to design and conduct a process evaluation and a modified outcome evaluation of the ROSS-SC (1) to see if the revised Logic Model helps to address some of GAO's concerns, (2) to identify what would make reporting more accurate, (3) to help HUD determine whether it is "meeting the goals of effective and efficient use of resources" in the ROSS-SC program and (4) to develop a process to help HUD make such a determination in future fiscal years. A final report should be available by Spring of 2021.
A key goal of this assessment is to shed light on the lost potential for various types of factory-built housing as a cost-effective alternative for satisfying a community's affordable housing needs. Employing various research methods, the research team will investigate the type, incidence, and scope of regulatory barriers that prohibit or restrict the use of various types of factory-built housing, (i.e., HUD Code manufactured homes or modular housing) in their communities. The team will assess the impacts such barriers have had on more recent efforts to plan for factory-built housing in these communities and estimate how much manufactured housing, on an aggregate basis, has not been placed in these communities as a result of the identified barriers. At the end of the contract period, the team will submit suggestions and recommendations on steps that States and localities could take to eliminate or mitigate the identified barriers, and prepare up to five (5) case studies of community efforts that have either reduced or eliminated mitigated barriers to the siting/placement of manufactured housing in their respective communities.
This report contains data on the number of new manufactured home placements and on sales price, setup, and characteristics of these new homes. Reports are produced quarterly, on an ongoing basis.
As factory-built housing has become increasingly comparable to site-built housing, but with lower construction costs and overall development costs, there have been efforts to make factory-built housing an acceptable alternative in serving the affordable housing market in urban and suburban areas. Even more promising is that common public misperceptions about the aesthetic nature of factory-built housing have shifted because the design and structure have evolved and become physically indistinguishable from conventional housing. HUD awarded the "An Exploratory Study of Factory-Built Homes and their Implications for Affordability" study to 2 M Research. The study will provide HUD with a deeper understanding of the advances in construction methods, supply chain management, inherent efficiencies both in the construction of and use of factory-built homes, the nature of the relationship that exists between manufacturers and on-site construction crews, homeowners and financial institutions.
This study reports on the rate at which newly completed multifamily rental units and condominiums/co-operatives are absorbed (rented or sold). Characteristics such as average asking rents and prices are also collected. Reports are produced quarterly, on an ongoing basis.
This study is a survey of the sales volume and prices of new single-family homes conducted in conjunction with Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey. Reports are produced monthly, on an ongoing basis.
The statutorily mandated American Housing Survey (AHS) is the richest source of information about the nation's housing stock and the characteristics of its occupants, and it plays an important role in assessing the performance of government housing programs. HUD provides funding, oversight, and leadership on the AHS, while the Census Bureau provides operational management and conducts data collection. The additional funding devoted to Research & Technology beginning in FY 2010 and continuing through FY 2011, FY 2012, and FY 2013 has enabled HUD to restore the AHS to near its historical level of 60 metropolitan-area surveys on a 4-year rotating basis.
The AHS metropolitan surveys are important because they allow PD&R to observe housing market activity at a subnational level. For instance, a metropolitan survey was conducted in New Orleans in 2011, which in turn enabled comparison to the surveys conducted in 2004 (the year before Hurricane Katrina) and in 2009 (4 years after the storm). The surveys in 2009 and 2011 documented the change to the housing inventory caused by the hurricane and the subsequent progress of rebuilding efforts.
HUD redesigned the AHS for 2015 and beyond. The redesigned 2015 AHS includes a new longitudinal sample with an oversample from the largest 15 metropolitan areas and HUD- assisted housing units. Most of the core content and topical modules of the survey remain intact. A "bridge" sample of households from the 2013 AHS will allow for estimation of longitudinal changes between 2013 and 2015 and facilitate analyses of survey design changes.
Using Transformation Initiative (TI) funding, HUD entered into an interagency agreement with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to co-fund a rigorous study titled Housing Trade-Offs as They are Perceived and as They Affect Children’s Well-Being. The study investigates how housing options and their links to neighborhoods and schools jointly affect the socio-emotional development, academic achievement, and health of children ages 3 to 8. Families with at least one child in that age range will be randomly assigned to either receive a housing choice voucher or not. Random assignment is the basis for strong causal inference about the impact of housing on children. The study will also examine a sample of low-income families who did not apply for a voucher.
Over a period of 40 months, researchers will survey all three groups of study participants-those receiving a voucher, those not receiving a voucher, and similar families who did not apply for a housing choice voucher. Data collected will include family demography, housing quality, cognitive and health outcomes, residential preferences and tradeoffs (including data from a vignette study), and interviewer rating of neighborhood features thought to be key to child development. The study will advance knowledge by producing strong evidence about how families make housing choices, the impact of those choices on children, and the impact of receiving a housing choice voucher on families’ choices and children's outcomes.
The First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration is a randomized controlled experiment designed to test the impact of homebuyer education and counseling on a sample of 5,854 prospective low- to moderate- and middle-income (LMMI) first-time homebuyers (less than 120 percent of area median income). From 2014 - 2016, the research team worked with three national lenders and two national pre-purchase counseling intermediaries, and 63 HUD-approved local counseling agencies to enroll and randomly assign the sample to one of three interventions and a control group in 28 metropolitan areas with high application volumes across the country. The objective of the demonstration is to test the effectiveness and impact of two different types of homebuyer education and counseling modalities on mortgage preparedness, homebuyer outcomes, and loan performance for a large sample of prospective LMMI, first-time homebuyers (FTHB) over three to five years to determine to what extent their outcomes might be attributed back to the intervention they received.
The three treatment groups are:
The Early Insights Report was published in June 2016. The Baseline Report was published in January 2017. Who Participates in Homebuyer Education and Counseling Services and Why? Insights From HUD's First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration was published in 2018. Short-Term Impact Report: The HUD First-Time Homebuyer Education and Counseling Demonstration, Preliminary Findings was published in 2019. A long-term follow-up survey of the full study sample is being conducted from 2019 to mid-2020. A final long-term impact report is expected in 2021.
The 20-year run of U.S. Housing Market Conditions (USHMC) as a print-based quarterly publication drew to a close with release of the final issue, published in February of 2013 and describing conditions as of the conclusion of Q4 of 2012. An all-new, Web-based version of USHMC is now available on www.huduser.gov and promises to be a more useful and far-reaching information product for those with an interest in housing markets in the United States.
The USHMC website is home to all the familiar products that our readers have come to expect: National Data tables and summaries, Historical Data tables, and Regional Activity that includes narrative Regional Reports and Housing Market Profiles. In addition, from the USHMC home page, readers will be able to access several other PD&R publications pertaining to regional and local housing market conditions, including the Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis (CHMA) and Market at a Glance (MAAG) reports.
This study addresses important questions about RRH assistance. To answer these questions, this project includes components that will (1) synthesize the current body of research available on RRH and undertake new analysis of existing data, and (2) conduct new data collection and analysis. Four interrelated tasks will carry out this research. Findings from the study will enhance our understanding of the extent to which rapid re-housing achieves its intended goals; inform policymakers about what happens to households who are assisted with RRH; and catalog the range of program models and emerging practices used by RRH providers.
A key objective for reviewing current research and analyzing existing data is to investigate the reasons for divergent findings and document the ways previous studies differ. The synthesis will also explore existing evidence about RRH outcomes for single individuals and families. The primary objectives of new analysis of existing data are to produce additional evidence about the outcomes of RRH, housing situations before and after assignment to RRH assistance, and the extent to which RRH serves as a bridge to other types of homeless or housing assistance. Publication of the final report is expected by Spring 2021.
Through an interagency agreement with the United States Postal Service (USPS), HUD receives counts of total and vacant business and residential addresses in the United States at the ZIP+4 (ZIP9) geographic level. HUD uses these data for a variety of purposes, including research on neighborhood change; tracking disaster recovery; gauging the foreclosure crisis; analyzing housing markets; and measuring the impact of HUD funding on communities for programs such as the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI), and the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP). HUD is also permitted to make the vacancy data available at the census tract level to government and nonprofit organizations through a permitted user sublicense agreement. Permitted sub-licensees access these data through www.huduser.gov via a pass-word-protected portal. HUD has received these data quarterly since December 2005.
The central objective of this Task Order is to establish priorities for HUD's policy and research agenda in response to President Trump's main initiative to eliminate the barriers that create challenges for families in search of affordable housing options. To that end, this new procurement consists of four main activities that the research team shall carry out: (1) Assist with a comprehensive review of State and local actions to reduce regulatory impediments that restrict the supply of affordable housing; (2) develop and submit four white papers, each examining a contemporary problem or challenge faced by communities seeking to increase the supply of affordable housing as recommended by a panel of experts addressing regulatory barriers; (3) prepare and deliver a dissemination plan; and, (4) submit a final report. The final report and other deliverables to be determined will include suggested strategies for overcoming the identified barriers and recommendations for actions to operationalize a research strategy for the Department.
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded funds to 10 Continuums of Care (CoCs) in Round One of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) to enable them to develop and implement coordinated community approaches to preventing and ending youth homelessness. Through the demonstration, the funded CoCs work with youth homeless service organizations, Youth Advisory Boards (YABs), child welfare agencies, and other community partners to create comprehensive community plans to end youth homelessness. HUD has contracted out a four-year evaluation of the 10 CoCs funded in Round One. The evaluation will capture how the demonstration affects the development and implementation of comprehensive systems-level approaches across diverse contexts to addressing youth homelessness. It will examine the role of these approaches in affecting the size and composition of the population of youth experiencing and at risk of homelessness as well as their effects on youth's service and housing outcomes in three ways: 1) a detailed implementation and process evaluation examining how communities developed and implemented their coordinated community approaches to preventing and ending youth homelessness; 2) A qualitative examination of how targeted youth interacted with the YHPD programs, how they were served and to gather their feedback regarding the program; and, 3) a quantitative assessment that measures any changes in the size of the target population in all ten program sites, relative both to the size of the target population prior to the start of the grant program, and in comparison with a set of comparable communities in which the YHDP was not implemented. We expect to publish the final report by August 2021.