Updates from Your Neck of the Woods

Summer has brought real movement across our four-state region. Here is what happened in July and early August, starting with a federal item that touches all of us, followed by state by state updates.

Across the Region

The North Carolina Housing Coalition flagged that the U.S. House is weighing a Continuing Resolution to extend federal funding through early December, avoiding a shutdown ahead of the midterms, alongside a possible budget reconciliation package that includes the SAVE Act. Both are worth watching closely since they touch federal housing program funding relevant to Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina alike.

Effective August 1, USDA Rural Development dropped the interest rate on its Single Family Housing Direct Loan Program, also known as Section 502 Direct, to 5.250 percent for low income and very low income borrowers. That applies to rural lenders and homebuyers across all four states, not just one corner of the region.

HUD also released updated 2025 Point in Time homelessness count data in mid July, giving housing providers across the region a fresh look at how need is trending nationally and locally.

Virginia

Governor Spanberger's full package of new housing laws, what she has called the Affordable Virginia Agenda, took effect on July 1. The laws are aimed at cutting red tape that has slowed housing supply, and the Governor tied them directly to affordability goals for renters and buyers across the Commonwealth. A week later, on July 8, she hosted a roundtable in Richmond with families and advocates focused specifically on renter affordability, building on that same package of legislation.

Virginia Housing has stayed active through July as well. The agency highlighted a Habitat for Humanity build in Toano showcasing two lower cost construction methods, and later in the month took part in the groundbreaking of a mixed use development in Greater Washington that combines affordable housing with commercial retail, a rare pairing in the state.

West Virginia

A quiet month for West Virginia specific news. The USDA Rural Development rate change noted above still applies to lenders and homebuyers across the state.

North Carolina

Early bird registration opened July 27 for the 2026 NC Affordable Housing Conference, set for October 22 and 23 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Worth getting on member calendars now.

South Carolina

South Carolina Public Radio ran a segment on July 6 looking at how Columbia and Charleston are each working to grow their affordable housing stock, with different approaches shaped by local market pressure.

One item members should know about even though the underlying law is a bit older: S.853, the bill that froze certain applications for the nonprofit low income housing property tax exemption, became operative on June 30. Applications filed on or after that date are now being held in abeyance through June 2027 rather than processed as usual. If your organization has an application in the pipeline or is planning to file one, this is actively affecting timelines right now.

Have an update from your part of the region we should include next time? Reach out at admin@midatlanticcah.org.

Sources

- Office of Governor Abigail Spanberger, July Releases, July 1 and July 8, 2026: https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2026/july-releases/

- Virginia Housing News: https://www.virginiahousing.com/news and https://www.virginiahousing.com/

- USDA Rural Development, Single Family Housing Direct Home Loans in West Virginia: https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/single-family-housing-programs/single-family-housing-direct-home-loans/wv

- North Carolina Housing Coalition, Housing Call, July 21, 2026: https://nchousing.org/housing-call-july-21-2026/

- North Carolina Housing Finance Agency News: https://www.nchfa.com/

- South Carolina Public Radio, "Growing the affordable housing market in SC," July 6, 2026: https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/podcast/south-carolina-business-review/2026-07-06/growing-the-affordable-housing-market-in-sc

- Southeast Affordable Housing Administration, client alert on S.853: https://www.sahahousing.org/south-carolina-freezes-certain-nonprofit-low-income-housing-property-tax-exemption-applications