The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority is leveraging more dollars for its first-time homebuyers program with a recent bond issue. First-time homebuyers could qualify for a below-market, 30-year mortgage rate as low as 3 percent through the CHFA, which recently raised $158 million in a bond sale.
“We”™ve had a very strong year in terms of growth,” said Eric Chatman, president and director of the authority. “We”™re up 40 percent compared to last year in the number of units financed, revenue generated and number of dollars devoted to mortgages.”
Last year, the CHFAÂ provided about 1,700 mortgages to first-time homebuyers. It is on track to provide 2,300 to 2,400 mortgages by the end of the year, Chatman said. The authority has about 135 participating lenders that are authorized to provide mortgages.
“The bank will do the underwriting on the mortgage and make sure the borrower qualifies,” Chatman said. “If they qualify, we purchase the mortgage from the lender and put it on our balance sheet. We fund it by issuing bonds. So the more mortgages we purchase from our lenders, the more borrowers that go to our lenders to get CHFA loans, and the more bonds we have to issue.”
One of the biggest hurdles to homeownership is the down payment, Chatman said, which CHFA loan programs can assist with. The authority also helps first-time homebuyers by providing educational classes and counseling that lay out all the challenges of homeownership. Those who receive guidance on homeownership are 30 percent less likely to experience foreclosures, he added.
“As long as the home is within the income and price limits, first-time homebuyers can buy a home with our mortgage,” Chatman said.
Recently, the CHFA received a national award from the National Council of State Housing Agencies for its affordable housing program. CHFA has financed more than 2,000 smaller-scale affordable housing units since 2011 to meet the growing needs of the state. It has partnered with the Connecticut Housing Investment Fund, the Local Initiatives Support Corp., the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund, the Hartford Community Loan Fund and the Housing Development Fund to finance affordable multifamily rental housing developments that are between 5 and 19 units.
