Free Housing Reports

HUD Reports 1.6 Million Experienced Homelessness In 2010

by Dustan Shepherd

HUD ISSUES 2010 ANNUAL HOMELESS ASSESSMENT REPORT TO CONGRESS
New data shows impact of Recovery Act on mitigating homelessness caused by recession

June 14, 2011 Press Release

WASHINGTON – According to its latest national homeless assessment, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports the number of homeless persons in the U.S. held steady between 2009 and 2010, despite the economic downturn. For the first time, HUD’s annual report reveals how the Recovery Act’s Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) helped to mitigate homelessness in America, assisting nearly 700,000 persons in the first year of the program.

Based on data collected from thousands of local communities, HUD’s 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress finds a continued decline in the number of persons experiencing long-term homelessness due to the dramatic increase in the number of permanent supportive housing units. Those who were chronically homeless – persons with severe disabilities and long homeless histories – decreased one percent between 2009 and 2010, from 110,917 to 109,920. Since 2007, the number of people who are chronically homelessness has decreased by 11 percent, partially due to the number of 34 percent increase in permanent supportive housing beds during that same timeframe.

Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program– Approximately 690,000 people received assistance in the first year of the HPRP including 531,000 (77 percent) individuals who were prevented from becoming homelessness in the first place. The remaining 159,000 (23 percent) persons received ‘rapid re-housing’ assistance to move from the streets or shelters into permanent housing.

Most HPRP participants (59 percent) received assistance for two months or less. Participants receiving homelessness prevention assistance had slightly longer lengths of participation than persons receiving rapid re-housing assistance because prevention assistance was more likely to be provided on a recurring basis, while rapid re-housing was more likely to be one-time assistance – such as a security deposit.

HUD’s annual assessment is based on two measures of homelessness:

Point-In-Time ‘Snapshot’ Counts – these data account for sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night, usually at the end of January. The number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night increased by 1.1 percent over the last year: from 643,067 in January 2009 to 649,879 in January 2010. A total of 79,344 family households, and 241,621 persons in families, were homeless on the night of the 2010 PIT count. Since 2009, the number of homeless families increased 1.1 percent, and the number of homeless persons in families increased 1.5 percent
12-Month Counts –Using Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS),these dataprovide more detailed information on persons who access a shelter over the course of a full year. In 2010, 411 communities covering over 4,700 cities and counties submitted useable HMIS data resulting in a 23 percent increase from 2009. This increase results in more precise results as HMIS data collection and reporting capacities continue to improve. HUD estimates that 1.6 million persons experienced homelessness and found shelter between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2010, a 2.2 percent increase from 2009. The characteristics of sheltered homeless individuals are very different from the characteristics of sheltered persons in families. Individuals are more likely to be white men, over 30 years old, and have a disabling condition, while adults in families are more likely to be younger African-American women without a reported disability. Of all those who sought emergency shelter or transitional housing during 2010, the following characteristics were observed:
78 percent of all sheltered homeless persons are adults.
62 percent are male.
58 percent are members of a minority group.
37 percent are 31-to-50 years old.
63 percent are in one-person households.
37 percent have a disability.

HUD’s report also reveals the following trends:

From 2007-2010:

Since 2007, the annual number of people using homeless shelters in principal cities has decreased 17 percent (from 1.2 million to 1.0 million), and the annual number of people using homeless shelters in suburban and rural areas has increased 57 percent (from 367,000 to 576,000).
The number of homeless persons in families has increased by 20 percent from 2007 to 2010, and families currently represent a much larger share of the total sheltered population than ever before. The proportion of homeless people who are using emergency shelter and transitional housing as part of a family has increased from 30 percent to 35 percent during this same period. The increase in sheltered family homelessness is almost certainly a consequence of the economy.
Despite increases over the past year, there has been overall a 3.3 percent decline in the number of homeless persons from 2007 to 2010: a 3.6 percent decline for individuals and a 2.8 percent decline for persons in families. The overall decline in homelessness during this period can be attributed to a steep drop in homelessness in Los Angeles between 2007 and 2009.
There were almost 94,000 more sheltered homeless persons in families in 2010 as there were in 2007, and almost 72,000 fewer sheltered homeless individuals. The number of sheltered homeless individuals has declined six percent since 2007, from 1.15 million to 1.04 million.

Looking Ahead

The long-term impacts of the recession are unclear. A recent study found a nearly five-fold increase in the rate of housing overcrowding, suggesting that many families are doubling up in response to the economic downturn. If some of these family support networks already are struggling to make ends meet, some of the doubled-up families may find their way into the homeless residential service system during 2010.

HUD will use the findings from the 2010 AHAR to continue to work to end all homelessness through the Obama Administration’s initiative, Opening Doors, an unprecedented federal strategy to end veteran and chronic homelessness by 2015, and to end homelessness among children, families, and youth by 2020.

Read HUD’s 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress.

Call me at 1-800-689-6001 or email me: info@203kkc.com with your questions.

Harvard Identifies 203k Loan Opportunities in Remodeling Study

by Dustan Shepherd

In the wake of the worst downturn in residential real estate in recent memory, the U.S. home-improvement industry is primed for growth, a report issued by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University concludes. As one of the nation’s top renovation home loans, the FHA 203k loan is poised to take full advantage of the industry projected growth.

“A New Decade of Growth for Remodeling” is the sixth and latest report in the “Improving America’s Housing” series published by the University’s Remodeling Futures Program.

The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), a tracking measure compiled by the Remodeling Futures Program, estimates first-quarter homeowner spending on improvements at $122.8 billion, a 7.1% increase from the first quarter of last year. Second-quarter home-improvement spending is forecast to show a more than 10% increase, year over year, and at an estimated $130.2 billion will nearly manage to return to levels last seen in early 2008. The FHA 203k loan saw an annual increase of over 335% in closed loans between 2008 and 2010.

The center’s press release included a statement from Kermit Baker, director of the center’s Remodeling Futures Program. “Lower household mobility following the housing market crash means that in the coming years homeowners will increasingly focus on improvements with longer paybacks, particularly energy-efficient retrofits,” Baker said. “Also, a slowing of migration to traditionally fast-growing Sunbelt metro areas means that, at least temporarily, more remodeling spending will remain in older, slower-growing areas in the rust belt and in California.” Mr. Baker’s statement supports the 2010 insured loan report for 203k’s that identifies California as one of the largest 203k lending states in the country.

During the first quarter of 2011, my office has seen a sharp spike in calls requesting information on how a 203k loan works with the FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) program. According to the report, one emerging growth opportunity for remodeling contractors will be to fill the increasing need for energy-related projects. Between mid-2009 and mid-2010, the share of home improvement contractors reporting that they worked on projects eligible for federal energy tax credits jumped from less than 40 percent to almost 60 percent.

Energy-efficient upgrades to existing homes offer huge potential savings in terms of national energy conservation. Homes currently account for over 20 percent of national energy usage, and homes built before the 1973 OPEC oil embargo (when energy costs were lower and efficiency was less of a priority) account for about half of the national housing stock. Retrofitting the existing inventory of almost 130 million homes will thus be a massive undertaking.

More than 22,000 203k mortgages were funded in fiscal year 2010. If the study is correct, we will continue to see a steady growth in borrowers using the 203k as a major source of funding for home-improvement projects well past 2011. If you have questions, call me at 1-800-689-6001 or e-mail me your questions at info@203kkc.com.

On Any One Night Over 75,000 Veterans Are Homeless In America

April 2, 2011

VETERAN HOMELESSNESS: A REPORT TO CONGRESS A single homeless U.S. veteran is a shame, but 136,000 homeless Vets is a national tragedy. That sad figure comes from the recently released joint VA-HUD report on homelessness among veterans. The report is intended to provide Congress with specific demographics of homeless veterans, how homeless veterans compare with [...]

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Worst Case Housing Needs in America

February 23, 2011

Recently elected officials in Inwood, New York, called on the city to help dozens of newly homeless tenants who have been forced out of their squalid apartments. Just 32 units in the 76-unit building were occupied following years of compaints by residents about sagging floors, broken plumbing, rat infestations and other problems that have led to a [...]

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National Alliance To End Homelessness Issues “State of Homelessness in America 2011″

February 2, 2011

Report | 11 Jan 2011 the following is a reprint from the National Alliance to End Homeless press release January 11, 2001 Since the release of Homelessness Counts: Changes in Homelessness from 2005 to 2007, the Alliance has chronicled changes in the levels of homelessness in the nation and in individual states and communities to [...]

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2011 Green Wish list For Housing

January 22, 2011

Over the years I have followed the Environmental Building News located at buildinggreen.com. This issue marks the 20th year for the publication. Their first article for the year ”A Green Building Wish List: Policies, Trends, and Products for 2011 and Beyond” is a must read for all residential real estate professionals. I hope you will hit the link [...]

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