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Dec 5 - MAHC Member Meeting, 9-10:30 am, USM Glickman Library, 314 Forest Avenue, 7th Floor, Portland - Sponsored by Norway Savings Bank

Guest speakers to share multifamily energy efficiency funding updates: Dan Burgess (Governor's Energy Office), and Efficiency Maine
Parking is available at USM. If you need MAHC to cover your parking costs, please follow one of these options.

Feb 6 - MAHC Member Meeting, 9-10:30 am, Portland. Panel discussion on the Affordable Housing Investment Market. Want to sponsor this event?

FUNDING: 4% LIHTC RFP Available Now

MaineHousing has published the new 4% LIHTC RFP. It is available here:
https://mainehousing.org/docs/default-source/development/2023-4-lihtc-rfp-final.pdf?sfvrsn=a2fd9f15_1

Legislative Update - MAHC Testimony, Public Hearings Coming Up

The Housing Committee met last week and held an in-depth discussion on modular and manufactured housing in Maine, learned about how to increase elevator inspector capacity in Maine, and how to build the pipeline of workers for building construction.

A public hearing was also held on LD 1505 clarifying the definition of cooperative housing and allowing their residents to access housing supports. MAHC submitted testimony in favor.

MAHC resubmitted testimony on LD 1976 "An Act to Update the Growth Management Program Laws" as neither for nor against that highlights the need for ensuring growth areas are available and sizeable for towns to leverage the benefits of density for affordable housing thanks to LD2003.

DEC 5 - Housing Committee Meeting, 9 am, Room 216, Cross Building

Housing First – service coordinator positions (DHHS)
Emergency Housing Relief Funds (GOPIF)
Emergency Shelters, including low-barrier shelters (Preble Street Resources, Milestone Recovery and others)

MAHC 2024 Strategic Plan Priorities

MAHC's board and staff took input from membership on suggested priorities for 2024 and has developed the following plan here. We welcome your input on this plan and look forward to engaging you in the upcoming legislative session for testimony, data, and expertise.

New Data on Natural Gas vs. Electricity - MAHC Electrification of Affordable Housing Brief

MAHC appreciates all the input received from membership on the draft Electrification Brief. MAHC will have a revised final version next week. If you'd still like to offer input on the draft, here is the draft. We also wanted to share data recently collected comparing natural gas and electricity prices that Randall Poulton shared.

Space Heating Study (Revised)
Cost to Produce One Million BTUs of Heat

Fuel	Unit	BTUs per Unit	Cost per Unit	Efficiency	Cost for One Cold Day	Notes
					(one million BTU)
Natural Gas	Therm	100,000	$1.00	0.95	$10.53	Bangor Nat Gas price in $0.83!

#2 oil	gallon	140,000	$4.00	0.85	$33.61	Per Gov's website

LP Gas	gallon	91,500	$3.00	0.95	$34.51	Per Gov's website

Elec Base Board	kWh	3412	$0.29	1.0	$84.99	CMP Standard Offer

Air Source HP (Typ)	kWh	3412	$0.29	3.0	$28.33	COP per Gov's website

Air Source HP (cold)	kWh	3412	$0.29	2.5	$34.00	COP drops with temperature

Air Source HP (very cold)	kWh	3412	$0.29	2.0	$42.50	COP drops with temperature

Efficiency Maine Trust Funding Overview

You'll get a chance to learn more about this at our Dec 5 Member Meeting, but you can find slides with an overview of Efficiency Maine Trust's draft plans for the $72 million of Federal funding for energy efficiency upgrade here.

MaineHousing Meeting on Housing First - 12/13

Come be part of a community conversation about fairness, opportunity, and support for all families. RSVP here for free tickets, while they last!

US IS UNPREPARED TO PROVIDE HOUSING AND CARE FOR MILLIONS OF OLDER ADULTS

Read the Report

The US population 65 and over soared by 34 percent in the last decade, from 43 million in 2012 to 58 million in 2022. In the coming decade, the fastest growth will occur among those over 80, when people are more likely to need accessible housing as well as services and supports at home. The US, however, is not ready to provide housing and care for this surging population, according to our new Housing America’s Older Adults 2023 report.

The Dual Challenge of Housing and Services in Later Life
Older adults, whose incomes are often fixed or declining, increasingly face the twin challenges of securing affordable housing and the services they need to remain in the home of their choice. In 2021, an all-time high of nearly 11.2 million older adults were cost burdened, meaning they spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Cost burdens are particularly high for renters, homeowners with mortgages, and households age 80 and over. [INTERACTIVE MAP] Accessible housing is also in short supply; fewer than 4 percent of US homes offered the three key features of accessible housing—single-floor living, no-step entries, and wide hallways and doorways—at last measure.

AFTER FALLING LAST YEAR, HOME PRICES ARE RISING AGAIN

After home prices fell during the latter half of 2022 and markets across the country cooled, prices have been increasing nationally in 2023. Indeed, according to our analysis of the Freddie Mac House Price Index, home prices increased by 0.7 percent on a monthly basis in August, marking an eighth consecutive month of growth. The growth in prices is somewhat slower than what occurred in 2021 but, when combined with higher interest rates, is putting homeownership (and the associated wealth-building opportunities) out of reach for a growing number of households. An interactive chart released with our State of the Nation’s Housing 2023 report (and updated below) shows how this trend has played out in metro areas across the US

Maine Development Foundation's Measures of Growth Report
The Report finds that overall, Maine continues to perform exceptionally well in terms of environmental stewardship and has made promising improvements to internet connectivity, entrepreneurship, and achievement of postsecondary degrees and credentials. However, the lingering impact of the pandemic on children’s mental health and learning, the high costs of housing and energy, and other systemic challenges continue to burden communities, businesses, and households.

MAHC ONLINE MEMBERSHIP SYSTEM HERE
Renew Your Membership- July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024
Create your directory listing with logos, additional contacts and more.

YOU MAY NEED TO RESET YOUR ORGANIZATION'S MEMBERSHIP LEVEL. Log in with your email address and set your password by clicking "Forgot Password". Please reach out if you have any questions HERE.