affordable housing investment reaches $11 Billion Record Investments Enable First Tim

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Governor announces affordable housing investment reaches $11 Billion Record Investments Enable First Time Buyers and Working Families to Achieve the Dream of Homeownership and Affordable Rental Housing

Governor George E. Pataki today announced that New York State has now invested $11 billion in statewide affordable housing initiatives over the past 11 years – a record achievement that has provided nearly 132,000 units of affordable rental housing and individually owned homes throughout New York State since 1995.

“As the State’s economy has grown over the past eleven years, we have been there to answer the call for more, and better, housing opportunities for hardworking New Yorkers,” Governor Pataki said. “This record investment of $11 billion has allowed thousands to achieve the dream of home ownership and provided others with the affordable housing they need to work and raise their families right here in New York. While we can calculate these accomplishments in dollars – the positive effects these investments have made in the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are immeasurable.”

The $11 billion in mortgages, grants and commitments have provided for almost 132,000 units of affordable rental housing and individually owned homes throughout New York State since 1995. The assistance has enabled first time homebuyers and hardworking families to realize the dream of homeownership and has also provided much needed affordable rental housing to others.

These activities, facilitated through the New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA), the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) and the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC), are financed primarily through the sale of housing revenue bonds that provide necessary funding for mortgages made to individuals purchasing their first homes and developers creating affordable multi-family rental developments for low- and middle-income New Yorkers. Combined, the Agencies represent the largest issuer of housing revenue bonds in the country.

Stephen J. Hunt, President/CEO of HFA, AHC, and SONYMA said, “The unique nature of the Agencies, and the manner in which they are largely self-financed, encourages investments that spur economic growth and create housing opportunities, while maintaining New York State’s decade long dedication to responsible spending.”

HFA provides low-cost financing for the development of multi-family affordable rental housing and is responsible for $5.2 billion in bond-backed construction and development mortgages that created over 11,000 units of affordable housing and is also estimated to have created approximately 21,000 jobs throughout the State. (All estimated job creation numbers are calculated using the National Association of Homebuilders formulas for Direct Economic Impact of residential construction.)

Jerome M. Becker, HFA and AHC Chairman said, “This $11 billion investment in housing has reinvigorated communities in need throughout the State. People’s lives, and whole communities, have been improved thanks to these enormous efforts.”

SONYMA Chairman Joseph Strasburg said, “Realizing the American Dream of homeownership is more than just making an investment in buying a house. It gives people the security and comfort of something they own to call home at the end of the day. SONYMA is proud to have helped that dream come true for more than 48,000 New Yorkers over the past eleven years.”

Today’s announcement highlights achievements through various programs, many of which were created under the leadership of Governor Pataki, to increase homeownership and in-demand affordable rental housing units throughout the state:

AHC PROGRAMS

The Affordable Home Ownership Development Program awarded over $255 million in grants to create or rehabilitate over 22,000 residential units statewide – more than 9,600 in New York City.
SONYMA PROGRAMS

Through SONYMA, New Yorkers have purchased more than 48,000 homes, totaling almost $4.4 billion in mortgages, through low interest rate mortgage homeownership programs over the past eleven years.
Closing Cost Assistance Loans (CCAL) – almost $43 million has been granted to help approximately 8,500 families and individuals purchase homes since the Governor created the CCAL program in 2003.
Achieving the Dream Program – more than $760 million in mortgage financing has been provided to approximately 8,800 low-income families and individuals. Mortgage loans through this program provide up to 97% financing with a very low fixed interest rate for homebuyers qualified as low-income.
Construction Incentive Program – approximately $520 million in loans have been provided to stimulate the construction of more than 4,600 new homes that were then purchased by qualified homebuyers, using SONYMA mortgages. It is estimated that these investments have generated more than 13,000 jobs.
Mortgage Insurance Fund (MIF) – has issued commitments to insure more than $1.5 billion in mortgages for the creation or rehabilitation of approximately 50,000 units of affordable housing statewide.
HFA PROGRAMS

80/20 Program – more than $3.7 billion in housing revenue bonds have been issued to support the creation of approximately 2,700 units of affordable rental housing through this program. It is also estimated that nearly 15,000 jobs were created as a result of the investment of these funds in housing development and construction.
Housing Opportunity and Preservation for the Empire State (HOPES) Program – approximately $194 million in housing revenue bonds have been issued to preserve more than 3,200 units of affordable housing through the program since its creation in 2002.
Senior Housing Program and the HOPES Program – over 2,900 affordable units have been created or preserved especially for New York’s growing senior population through the combined efforts of these programs.
HFA was created as a public benefit corporation in 1960, to finance low-income housing by raising funds through the issuance of housing revenue bonds and the making of mortgage loans to eligible borrowers.

SONYMA is a public-benefit corporation of the State of New York created in 1970. The purpose of the Agency is to create affordable homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers and other qualifying homebuyers.

SONYMA’s Mortgage Insurance Fund was created in 1978 to promote the preservation and revitalization of communities across the State of New York by providing insurance on single-family mortgage loans to promote homeownership, and on multi-family mortgage loans that encourage investment of capital by commercial and public lenders.

AHC is a subsidiary of HFA and was established in 1985 to promote home ownership by persons of low and moderate income, by providing financial assistance as approved annually by the New York State Legislature, in conjunction with other private and public investment, for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, and improvement of owner-occupied housing (www.nyhomes.org).
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[WNYresident]

Governor George E. Pataki today announced that New York State has now invested $11 billion in statewide affordable housing initiatives over the past 11 years – a record achievement that has provided nearly 132,000 units of affordable rental housing and individually owned homes throughout New York State since 1995.

invested? or gave out money away? If it's an investment do they track how many people go on default paying back thier mortages?