Halfway through fiscal year 2020, MassHousing has closed $612.4 million in affordable housing financing to ensure that more than 3,000 Massachusetts households have an affordable place to call home.
Multifamily lending is leading the way, having closed $325 million in financing for 20 developments with 2,205 total units, 1,933 of which are affordable. Multifamily communities receiving MassHousing financing are located in 11 communities across the Commonwealth, and seven developments with 1,023 units (856 affordable) are located in Gateway Cities. Three developments receiving $34.5 million in financing are new production that will create 211 new units.
"Multifamily developers and property owners are facing a number of challenges in today’s market, from escalating construction costs to an ongoing need for housing that is affordable to both low and middle-income households," said Mark Teden, MassHousing's Vice President of Multifamily Programs. "Along with the continued demand for tax-exempt financing, MassHousing is working to expand our loan product offerings to meet the need for financing of mixed-income projects across the Commonwealth."
On the HomeOwnership side, MassHousing has closed 1,593 loans for $263.8 million. Included in that total is down payment and closing cost assistance financing of $4.9 million, which helped 547 households buy a home in Massachusetts. An additional 97 loans for $23.6 million were made possible through the Agency’s Mortgage Insurance Fund.
According to the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS, the number of single-family homes for sale in November 2019 fell 29% compared to the previous year, and the number of condominiums for sale fell almost 21%. Meanwhile, median sales prices continued to climb, to $405,000 for a single-family home and $380,000 for a condo.
"MassHousing should be the lender of choice for first-time homebuyers," said MassHousing's Vice President of HomeOwnership Programs Mounzer Aylouche. "Our affordable mortgage loans and down payment assistance provide the additional buying power needed to compete in today’s market."