Guides to Programs and Resources

Federal Programs:

• Advocates Guide of the National Low Income Housing Coalition includes one page descriptions of federal housing programs. 
• Programs of HUD is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s compendium of departmental programs:  http://www.hud.gov/funds/index.cfm

State Programs:

• For a description of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and its programs: http://www.wheda.com/root
• Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Bureau of Housing programs, including federally funded programs administered by the state:
  http://commerce.wi.gov/CD/cd-boh-home.html
• Wisconsin Front Door has apartments listed from every county of the state, and allows you to search based on availability, rent amount, handicap accessibility, Income Restrictive, accepts Section 8 vouchers and much more.  Many of the units are available for immediate occupancy: http://www.WIFrontDoor.org/

Data Sources:

For information about national and regional trends including housing prices, affordability, demographic changes:

• Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (State of the Nation’s Housing Annual Report):
  http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/
• National Home Builders Association: http://www.nahb.org/page.aspx/category/sectionID=113

For local data on housing prices, rents, demographics, and other characteristics, some dating to 2000 and other more current:

• Census: http://www.census.gov/ and http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml( an access tool for Census data)
• Fannie Mae Foundation Data Site: http://www.dataplace.org/

For local (county) data on affordability and rental rates:

• Out of Reach, a report on housing affordability in each county for a minimum wage household and the minimum wage needed to afford housing in a county (National Low Income Housing Coalition)
• Paycheck to paycheck (National Housing Conference)
• HUD Fair Market Rents

For county data on average house prices from the Wisconsin Realtors Association:
http://www.wra.org/Resources/Property/Wisconsin_Housing_Statistics/

A rich source of data on property values and characteristics is the local property assessor records.  Local governments may also have other data sources available such as building permits and crime statistics that can be used to examine trends in a neighborhood.

Information Search:

For background on issues, best practices, policy:

• U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: http://www.hud.gov/
• Fannie Mae Foundation bibliographic search for topical housing articles and meetings: http://www.knowledgeplex.org/

National nonprofit housing organizations that offer policy analysis and research:

• National Housing Conference: http://www.nhc.org/
• National Low Income Housing Coalition: http://www.nlihc.org/

Organizations that are national intermediaries supporting local nonprofit organizations through funding, technical assistance, and training:

• NeighborWorks:   http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation: http://www.liscnet.org
• Enterprise Community Partners: http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/