HUD Needs to Improve Its Estimation and Oversight Practices for Single-Family Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development needs to improve its estimation and oversight practices for single-family housing, according to the GAO.

During recent attempts to update its aging IT infrastructure, HUD established a risk management plan, and identified and analyzed risks to FHA Catalyst. However, they did not develop contingency plans for the identified risks. The GAO also found the cost and schedule estimates to be unreliable. According to GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide, the characteristics of a high-quality, reliable cost estimate are that it is comprehensive, well-documented, accurate, and credible. The FHA Catalyst cost estimate was unreliable because it only partially addressed the “comprehensive” characteristic, minimally addressed the “well-documented” and “accurate” characteristics, and did not address the “credible” characteristic at all.

To read the full report, visit https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-459.