PREFACE
The
National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization created by the nation’s state Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) more
than 40 years ago to coordinate and leverage their federal advocacy efforts for
affordable housing. NCSHA’s members are
the state HFAs; the HFAs of the District of Columbia, New York City, Puerto
Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and the agencies that allocate the Low
Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit) in the five jurisdictions where an
HFA does not. NCSHA’s affiliate members
include over 300 profit and nonprofit firms in the affordable housing field.
At the center of HFA
activity within the states and NCSHA’s work in Washington are three federally
authorized programs: tax-exempt Housing Bonds, the Housing Credit, and the HOME
Investment Partnerships (HOME) program.
NCSHA is the principal advocate in Washington for both Housing Bonds and
the Housing Credit and the principal state advocate for HOME. In addition to its policy and legislative
advocacy work, NCSHA provides HFAs education and training and facilitates best
practice exchange among them.
Using Housing Bonds,
the Housing Credit, and HOME, HFAs have designed hundreds of housing programs,
including homeownership, rental, and all types of special needs housing. Many NCSHA member agencies also administer
other federal housing programs—including Section 8 and homeless assistance—and
state housing resources.
HFAs
have provided affordable mortgages to more than 3.3 million families to buy
their first home through the single-family Housing Bond program. HFAs have also financed approximately 4
million low- and moderate-income rental homes, including more than 3.2 million rental
homes using the Housing Credit.
Each year, NCSHA conducts
a comprehensive survey of HFA program activity and compiles it in this
publication, the HFA Factbook.
This information serves several purposes. It supports NCSHA's advocacy within Congress,
the Administration, and the numerous federal agencies concerned with
housing. It provides hard evidence of
HFA program results and successes. And,
it gives NCSHA the information necessary to accurately represent and respond to
its member needs and press inquiries.
The Factbook also allows HFAs to compare their programs and
operations to those of other HFAs and to learn from one another. Industry professionals find it an
indispensable tool as they work with and provide services to HFAs and the
lower-income people they serve.
The 2017 Factbook is divided into
the following sections: Administration and Budget, Private Activity Bond Volume
Cap Usage, Mortgage Revenue Bonds, Low Income Housing Tax Credit, Multifamily
Bonds, and HOME Investment
Partnerships. Each section begins with a
brief description of the program and an analysis of key program data and
trends.
NCSHA
would like to acknowledge the commitment, dedication, and efforts of the
executive directors and staff of the HFAs who contributed the extensive data
that made the 2017 Factbook possible.