The MReport Webcast: Thursday 3/12/2015

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations today regarding the HUD budget for the 2016 fiscal year, emphasizing the new budget will be used to help more Americans secure a home. The proposed budget would increase by $4 billion from last year to a total of $49.3 billion. HUD’s budget proposes using more than $21 billion  for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which Castro said would extend support to more than 2.4 million low-income families.

Castro said combatting homelessness is a crucial component to the budget. The proposed budget would give $2.5 billion to Homeless Assistance Grants and another $117.5 million would be used to target Housing Choice Vouchers. HUD will also be investing in programs that will help upward mobility for residents. The Jobs Plus initiative, a program designed to improve employment and earnings outcomes for public housing residents, will receive $100 million in funding. An investment of 85 million dollars would go to Family Self-Sufficiency.

Home buyers are more confident now than they have been in the past several years, according to TD Bank's third annual Mortgage Service Index. The survey of more than 1,450 consumers showed 30 percent of Americans consider now to be a very good time to buy a home, 10 percent higher than last year's percentage. Almost 30 percent of consumers are expected to buy a home this year, higher than the 21 percent surveyed in 2014. The home buying experience is improving - 68 percent of respondents said their most recent experience was excellent or very good, compared to 62 percent seen last year.