NEW YORK, March 27, 2008 – New York State today issued its first annual Housing Report that documents where the State spends its housing resources and where its housing resources come from. The Report says that New York produced, preserved or assisted more than 27,000 households in 2007-including both rental and homeownership units.“By bringing together information which is normally spread out over multiple agencies, we ensure greater accountability and transparency and make certain our State’s Dollars go further,” Priscilla Almodovar, President and Chief Executive Officer of “nyhomes” and Deborah Van Amerongen, Commissioner of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, said in their letter introducing the report.
“This report succinctly describes the federal and state resources spent on permanent affordable housing, as well as the number of permanent affordable housing units created, preserved or assisted through the programs of our state agencies in 2006 and 2007.”
The Report establishes a baseline that can be a point of comparison for future state efforts to create and preserve affordable housing. The Report was compiled by the staff of DHCR and the agencies that make up “nyhomes,” including the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) and the Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC).
The Report also sets out the State’s housing goals for 2008. They include:
- Continued expansion of agency collaboration;
- Greater use of public/private partnerships to better leverage scarce public dollars; and
- Use of State’s resources to promote a “green” agenda that will enhance energy efficiency and “create healthier and more sustainable homes for our citizens.”
Despite the challenges facing State housing policies-including the subprime crisis, tightening credit and steadily rising construction costs-the state remains “committed to making New York a leader among states in providing quality housing for all of its citizens,” the Report says.
According to the Report, the State created, preserved or assisted 27,518 affordable housing units in 2007-including 17,722 homeownership units and 9,436 multi-family rental units.
Total resources expended in 2007 were more than $2.65 billion-a $1 billion increase compared to 2006. These include tax-exempt bonds used to finance multi-family and single family mortgages; Federal housing programs, including Low Income Housing Tax Credits; credit enhancement provided by SONYMA’s Mortgage Insurance Fund; and State program resources.
The Housing Report can be downloaded from the agencies’ web sites: www.nyhomes.org and www.dhcr.state.ny.us. To obtain a copy, go to http://www.nyhomes.org/docs/nys_housing_report_march_2008.pdf.
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“Nyhomes” consists of the New York State agencies that finance affordable housing. They include:
The Housing Finance Agency, which was created in 1960 to sell bonds to finance the construction and rehabilitation of multi-family affordable rental housing in New York State.
The Affordable Housing Corporation, a subsidiary of HFA, which was established in 1985 to promote homeownership by low- and moderate-income households. Financial assistance approved annually by the New York State Legislature, combined with other private and public investment, is used for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation and improvement of owner-occupied housing.
And the State of New York Mortgage Agency, which was created in 1970 with the mission of helping low- and moderate-income families become homeowners. It offers a variety of low down payment mortgages that provide below-market fixed interest rates, as well as closing cost assistance through a network of participating lenders across the state.
The Division of Housing and Community Renewal is one of America’s oldest affordable housing agencies. Originally created within New York’s Department of State in 1926, the Division of Housing administered the first Limited Dividend program and the first state-subsidized public housing program in the nation. Today, DHCR is responsible for the supervision, maintenance and development of affordable low- and moderate-income housing in New York State.
“nyhomes” Contact: Philip Lentz
Director of Communications
212-688-4000 x679
plentz (at) nyhomes (dot) org
DHCR Contact: Jim Plastiras
Director of Communications
518-486-3400
jplastiras (at) dhcr.state.ny (dot) us
