New Updates on PD&R Edge

PD&R Edge, an online magazine, provides you with a snapshot view of our newly released research, periodicals, publications, news, and commentaries on housing and urban development issues. Stay informed on current topics and check back frequently, as our content is routinely updated.

Featured: Preserving Owner-Occupied Affordable Homes

Homes in disrepair create health and safety risks that disproportionately affect low-income, elderly, and minority households. Yet, relatively low-cost repairs and upgrades are often sufficient to preserve livability and enhance energy efficiency. On April 17, 2024, the National Council of State Housing Agencies hosted a webinar in which industry, nonprofit, and academic players discussed the backlog of repairs facing lower-income homeowners and highlighted programs and policies to help finance housing maintenance, as well as strategies to bring successful programs to scale.

PD&R Leadership: Introducing HUB Director Patricia Moroz

In the Leadership Message, Patricia Moroz, Economic and Market Analysis Division (EMAD) director for regions 1, 2, and 3 and HUB director for regions 1-4, 9, and 10, discusses her past experiences and leadership positions with EMAD, along with aspects of her new role. Moroz has spent her entire career in the Philadelphia Regional Office with EMAD. She has served in leadership positions within EMAD for the past 13 years.

Spotlight on PD&R Data: Mapping Neighborhood Change Using Near Real Time Administrative Data

In late 2023, PD&R updated the functionality of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) data that it had been collecting for more than 15 years. Using the new Neighborhood Change Mapping Tool, users can select one or more census tracts to get USPS administrative address data and HUD tenant data and select variables from the decennial census and American Community Survey. The changes have increased the accessibility of the data. The mapping tool is now updated quarterly, has been harmonized with the 2020 census tracts, and includes administrative data consisting of 100 percent counts rather than survey data.

Research: Housing Needs of Survivors of Human Trafficking Study

HUD recently released the “Housing Needs of Survivors of Human Trafficking Study” and an accompanying fact sheet. The report looks at methods of outreach and assessment of trafficking survivors, the availability of housing and services, access to mainstream housing and services, barriers to fair housing, and best practices in housing and service delivery. Although many program models and approaches to service provisions exist that are well suited to addressing the housing needs of trafficking survivors, programs should be scaled up to meet existing needs, including through increased resources and training, as well as through technical assistance to improve resource coordination.

Trending: The Influence of Crime, Disasters, and Climate on FHA Mortgage Behavior

Most research on mortgage delinquency and default focuses on micro- and macroeconomic determinants. Although valuable, this body of work overlooks the local context's critical influence on individual behavior and decisionmaking. In this article, the authors discuss the findings of their forthcoming study investigating the effects of crime rates, natural disasters, and rising temperatures on borrowers’ decisionmaking for FHA-baked mortgages. They find strong evidence that these local stressors influence homeowners’ decisions on whether to stop paying their mortgage.

In Practice: Regional Partnerships Support Rural Affordable Housing in the Sierra Nevada

Challenging topography and soil contamination from legacy mining operations have left Nevada City, California, with few parcels suitable for new development. Thanks to a multiyear effort, a regional affordable housing trust fund, and the availability of disaster recovery tax credits created after the 2017 Wind Complex Fire, Cashin’s Field, which consists of 51 units of affordable housing, opened in 2023. The city’s first affordable housing development in decades, Cashin’s Field will help Nevada County meet its affordable housing needs under California’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation process for years to come.

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