SPRING 2002

Letter from the Editor

Lofts Seed Downtown Redevelopment

HMDA Changes to Enhance Fair-Lending Analysis

Fed Issues Final Rule Aimed at Curbing Predatory Lending

New Markets Tax Credits

Community Development Conference

Call for Papers

Have You Heard

Threshold for HMDA Exemption Increases for 2002

The Federal Reserve Board recently increased the asset-size exemption threshold for depository institutions under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) to $32 million from $31 million. Depository institutions with assets of $32 million or less as of Dec. 31, 2001, are exempt from data collection in 2002.

2002 Income Limits Set

FY 2002 income limits are available from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. County-level data from throughout the country can be downloaded from the HUD User web site.The types of information available include:

a nationwide copy of Section 8 income limits in PDF format,
median family income calculations and state median family incomes,
information about how HUD income limits are calculated,
a national data file with all counties and county subparts in PDF format,
an .exe file containing the files in Microsoft Word and
income limit area definitions.

To download the FY 2002 Income Limits, visit the HUD User web site at www.huduser.org/datasets/il/fmr02/ index.html.

KnowledgePlex Lets You Find, Exchange Information Online

www.knowledgeplex.org is a 6-month-old web site that not only has a wealth of information on affordable housing and community development, but also allows users to participate in online discussions with other professionals.

Launched last year, KnowledgePlex was created by a group of leaders in the affordable housing and community development field with funding from the Fannie Mae Foundation.

The web site features news about leading organizations in the field. Virtual communities involve members from around the world who contribute new ideas about housing and development.

You can become a member of KnowledgePlex by completing the registration form. Among other services, members receive e-mail updates on the site's special features, including:

Hot Topics, scholarly coverage of pressing issues;
daily newsfeeds with links to the latest regional and national coverage of housing issues;
new content in the Knowledge Library; and
studies and analyses, case studies and how-to's, and academic and government reports on current and emerging housing issues.

The web site is specifically designed for practitioners, scholars and policy-makers.