Developers of affordable housing properties shouldn't be afraid to ask HUD for creative solutions in financing new projects, says Foundation for Affordable Housing Solutions CEO Eliot Reid (right, with Randall Kelly of Nixon Peabody), since the agency is taking new approaches to financial aid. And other once-"monolithic" orgs like Fannie and Freddie are getting creative, too, in speeding up the newest affordable complexes, he told the crowd at Bisnow's second annual DC Affordable Housing and Community Development Summit.

Ensuring housing is inclusive of all income levels shouldn't fall by the wayside, according to Nixon Peabody's Jeff Lesk. He says other trends to watch in the affordable sector are public/private partnerships, developers doing more with fewer resources, as well as putting the "UD" back in HUD--a call the agency has made itself, he points out. (Be careful: The man who put the "MA" back in FEMA was fired for nepotism.)