A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday declined, 2-1, to stay the preliminary injunction blocking HUD's suspension of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, ordering HUD to release already-approved grant money and leaving LAHSA in the roughly $239 million regional Continuum of Care funding process ahead of an extended October 14 application deadline; the nationwide deadline remains September 30. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 7.03%, up from 6.95% the prior week, and the Census Bureau and HUD reported August new single-family home sales at a 684,000 annual rate, up 6.4 percent from July, with the median price down 5.8 percent from a year earlier at $393,700. The Worcester City Council rejected a proposed encampment ordinance that would have fined homeless people $25 per infraction. In Portland, police said two officers were assaulted during a camp removal at NW Flanders Street and NW 5th Avenue and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh voted 7-0 to hire former Home Forward CEO Ivory Mathews, who remains under an Oregon ethics investigation over travel spending.
Portland police said two Central Precinct Neighborhood Response Team officers were assaulted Thursday morning by a man whose camp was being cleared at NW Flanders Street and NW 5th Avenue, where officers were supporting a Portland Solutions camp removal that began at 10 a.m. Both officers were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, and the man was arrested and then hospitalized for evaluation after injuring himself. The Police Bureau's Major Crimes Unit is investigating as case No. 26-279416.
Portland Solutions is the city office that conducts camp removals under Portland's camping policy.
The Journal reported that rents for income-restricted affordable housing in Portland are growing faster than prices for market-rate apartments. The article's subheading says the city has rarely "seen such a narrow price gap between market-rate and affordable units."
WESA · 2026-09-24 · on ex-Home Forward CEO Ivory Mathews hired on a 7-0 board vote
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh board voted 7-0 Thursday to appoint Ivory N. Mathews as executive director, with a first day of October 1. Mathews led Home Forward from 2022 until April 2026 and remains the subject of an Oregon Government Ethics Commission investigation opened last month over her taxpayer-funded travel spending. HACP has a $255 million budget for 2027 and houses roughly 18,000 Pittsburghers.
Willamette Week reported the expected pick a day before the vote; outgoing director Caster Binion departs at the end of September.
Metro · 2026-09-24 · on Habitat for Humanity's 50-home True North development in University Park
Habitat for Humanity Portland Region is developing True North, a 50-home affordable homeownership community of two-, three- and four-bedroom townhomes in North Portland's University Park neighborhood, funded in part by the Metro Affordable Housing Bond along with Interstate Corridor tax increment financing, LIFT for Homeownership and congressional community project funding. Sales will prioritize low-income buyers with historic ties to the area under Portland's N/NE Preference Policy.
Metro says vertical construction is slated to begin in spring 2027, with the first homes completed in 2028.
Portland Tribune · 2026-09-25 · on Multnomah County rent, hardship and property-tax figures
The Tribune reported figures from the Ford Family Foundation's "Oregon By the Numbers" comparison of the state's 36 counties, including an average rental cost of $1,776 for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit in Multnomah County — a five-way tie with Yamhill, Washington, Columbia and Clackamas counties. The report said 44% of the county's households have experienced financial hardship, and put average property taxes at $2,837 per owner, above the statewide average of $2,087.
The data comes from the Ford Family Foundation's annual "Oregon By the Numbers" report covering all 36 Oregon counties.
Worcester city councilors on Tuesday rejected City Manager Eric Batista's proposed encampment ordinance, which would have fined homeless people $25 per infraction for camping in tents, sleeping on streets or sidewalks, or living in vehicles parked 24 consecutive hours in public lots. Councilor Gary Rosen filed a motion, supported by most councilors, sending the broader homelessness strategy back to Batista with instructions to remove the ordinance. Councilor Khrystian King called the measure a "homeless incarceration act" and said the city failed to consult social service experts.
This year's point-in-time count identified 1,187 unhoused people in Worcester County, down from 2,862 last year, against a supply of 197 permanent shelter beds across four shelters.
The San Francisco Standard · 2026-09-24 · on new SF homelessness department director Mike Levine's contracting plans
Mike Levine, who took charge of San Francisco's Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing and its $700 million annual budget in June after nearly a decade at MassHealth, said in an interview that more people are entering the city's homelessness system than exiting it and that the city underspends on prevention. Levine said he wants to tie nonprofit contracts to long-term housing outcomes, such as tenancy preservation at three, six and 12 months, rather than paying out invoices, and has invited providers that do not currently serve San Francisco to weigh in on the contract rebid.
Roughly 8,000 San Franciscans remain unhoused despite a drop in street homelessness in the city's most recent count.
Rochester City Council postponed its expected Tuesday vote on a plan to spend $1.15 million from the city's opioid compensation fund to reopen Peace Village, the city's only sanctioned homeless encampment, until a special meeting October 6. The legislation would authorize an agreement with City Roots Community Land Trust to operate 19 shelters on Industrial Street for adults 18 and older, with an on-site case management team, funded through the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Council members Mary Lupien, Stanley Martin and Kim Smith have proposed a "no barrier" model with no armed security and no personal information shared with police.
Rochester's homeless population has increased by 345 people over the last six years, a nearly 34% rise, according to this year's report from the city council president.
The Jefferson City Council voted 6-3 Monday, with one abstention, to reject a rezoning proposal that would have allowed the seasonal shelter Room at the Inn to relocate and expand to 107 Adams St. The shelter currently operates 20 beds out of First Baptist Church during winter months; the new location would have housed 30 people a night and added a daytime resource center. Board president Scott Johnston said the group will continue searching for a location.
The Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 in June against recommending the rezoning.
The Modesto City Council approved $591,000 on Tuesday as a consent item to sustain The Salvation Army's homeless services on South Ninth Street, comprising $491,000 from the state's Permanent Local Housing Allocation program and $100,000 from the city's Cannabis Community Benefit fund. The vote was 6-0, with Councilman Jeremiah Williams recused. A city staff report said the money covers staffing, program administration and facility costs at the shelter campus.
Stanislaus County supervisors had earlier approved an amendment with The Salvation Army, which operates the shelter, extending operations only through September.
A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday declined, 2-1, to stay U.S. District Judge David Carter's preliminary injunction blocking HUD from suspending the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, writing that HUD's explanation for suspending LAHSA during the FY2026 application cycle "runs counter to the evidence before the agency." The order requires HUD to send over grant money it already approved and lets LAHSA continue applying in the roughly $239 million regional funding process before an extended October 14 deadline. Judge Ryan Nelson dissented; the dissent has not yet been made public.
The Ninth Circuit hears oral argument on HUD's appeal of the injunction October 19, and Carter's injunction is set to expire October 27.
Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7.03% for the week of September 24, up from 6.95% the prior week and 6.30% a year earlier. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.42%, up from 6.26% the prior week and 5.49% a year ago. Chief economist Sam Khater said the housing market "remains supported by a solid labor market and an economy that is growing at a healthy rate."
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point on September 16, its first increase in three years.
U.S. Census Bureau and HUD · 2026-09-24 · on August new home sales at a 684,000 annual rate
The Census Bureau and HUD reported sales of new single-family houses in August 2026 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000, 6.4 percent above the July rate of 643,000 and 2.0 percent below the August 2025 rate of 698,000. The median sales price was $393,700, 5.8 percent below August 2025's $417,900, and the 483,000 new houses for sale represented an 8.5-month supply.
The report's 90-percent confidence interval on the July-to-August change is ±19.5 percentage points.
HUD announced nine Fair Housing Act charges of discrimination issued over the past six months, four alleging familial-status discrimination and three alleging disability discrimination. The department said its Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity has reduced the backlog of pending Title VIII complaints by 46% since September 1, 2025, a backlog it attributed to the Biden administration.
A 2024 HUD Office of Inspector General report found approximately 70% of fair housing cases were not closed within the statutory 100-day timeline.
The Community Home Lenders of America sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and FHFA Director Bill Pulte asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase mortgage-backed securities purchases to lower borrowing costs. The trade group estimated expanded purchases could produce 10 to 12 basis points of spread tightening and said signaling alone could bring rates down roughly 20 basis points.
Fannie Mae's MBS holdings rose from $71.5 billion at the end of 2025 to $100 billion by the end of July 2026, according to the article.