President Clinton has signed two key pieces of housing legislation, one that calls for the largest single increase ever in the low-income housing tax credit and another that allows families to apply up to a year's worth of federal rental housing assistance towards the purchase of a home.

The hike in the tax credit, which is the mechanism that has been responsible for building the vast majority of the nation's affordable rental properties since its inception in 1987, was part of a catch-all appropriations bill. But it didn't even get a mention when the President held a signing ceremony to commemorate the event.

But the signing of the omnibus housing bill, which also updates federal rules regarding manufacturing housing and provides for the construction and financing of more housing for the elderly and disabled, didn't even rate a press release, let alone a signing party.

That may seem astounding given the President's dogged determination to boost the nation's home ownership rate. But not so surprising when you realize that the bill's main author was none other than Rep. Rick Lazio, D-N.Y., who lost the race for the New York Senate seat to Mr. Clinton's bride. Could it be that the President didn't want the beaten politician to have one last moment in the sun? The tax credit provisions were hailed by John McEvoy of the National Council of State Housing Agencies as an "extraordinarily hard fought victory for affordable housing and the hundreds of thousands of lower income American families who will get housing families." The "long overdue increases" in the ceilings of both the tax credit as well as tax-exempt private activity bond program will result in an additional 180,000 low-income rental units a year.

Bonds and housing credits are the most essential financial tools states have to back first- time home buyer mortgages and affordable rentals. Congress capped both programs in 1986 and never increased them. And now, demand for the bonds and credits outstrip their supply nationally by a ratio of three to one.

States also use the programs as catalysts to revitalize urban neighborhoods and rejuvenate dilapidated housing. And according to the National Association of Home Builders, just the tax credit alone contributes significantly to economic growth nationwide, generating approximately 70,000 jobs, $2.3 billion in wages and $1.2 billion in federal state and local taxes annually.

The American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act, meanwhile, gives local housing officials the authority to allow families receiving Section 8 rental vouchers to accumulate up to a year's worth of aid for use towards the downpayment and closing costs in buying a house instead of renting.

About 3 million families currently receive Section 8 rental assistance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In modernizing rules regarding manufactured homes, the legislation establishes a dispute resolution program so that buyers are not caught in the middle when makers, retailers and installers blame each other for defects or installation problems.

Also known as trailers and mobile homes, manufactured houses are the only dwellings in the country built under a national building code. Currently, about 20 million people live full-time in more than 8 million factory-built homes.

The new law also gives local governments greater flexibility to fashion ownership programs for their low-income citizens, makes it easier for seniors to refinance their government- insured reverse mortgages and makes some technical corrections to the private more insurance cancellation law that was enacted three years ago.

But the measure might be even more well known for what was left out a provision that would have allowed teachers, firefighters and policemen access to FHA-insured mortgages with only a 1 percent downpayment. Also omitted was a provision that would have required an impact analysis of proposed federal regulations on the cost of housing, On that last item, lawmakers missed a golden opportunity to reduce unnecessary and burdensome regulations that drive up the cost of housing, says NAHB President Robert Mitchell.

"With millions of working American families having critical housing needs and forced to spend more than half of their income for housing, the impact analysis would have been the best tool available to rein in excessive regulatory costs and promote housing affordability," Mitchell said.

However, the bill does provide for the creation of a "Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse" within HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research. The clearinghouse will collect and disseminate information on the prevalence of regulatory barriers and their effects on the availability of affordable housing, and will catalogue successful barrier removal strategies.

Published: January 2, 2001

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.