The creation of stable, affordable housing is the backbone of many vibrant neighborhoods across the U.S., oftentimes boosting local economies by creating jobs and levering additional funds to be reinvested in the community.
A recent study completed by The Hendrickson Company and The Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida confirms that is particularly true in the southeast. The study, Beyond Units: Economic Benefits of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta’s Affordable Housing Program, shows that funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta’s (FHLBank of Atlanta) Affordable Housing Program (AHP) are a significant driver of job growth, housing production, and expanded tax bases in areas served by the program. These include communities in: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Findings from the study highlight and measure how member financial institutions, and the developers they work with, use AHP funds to finance housing construction and rehabilitation that serves low-and moderate-income families and individuals.
Overall, the study found that every $1 million of AHP funding generates $24.6 million in economic activity – with about $8 million going towards workers’ earnings.
Additional contributions from the FHLBank of Atlanta’s AHP cited in the study include:
- Generating $811 million of federal, state and local taxes since the program began 20 years ago – representing $2.79 in taxes for each $1 of AHP funding;
- Building or rehabilitating $14.3 million in housing for every $1 million of AHP funding; and
- Creating 46,000 jobs since AHP’s inception.
About AHP
The FHLBank of Atlanta is one of 12 district banks within the FHLBank system that provide strength and stability to the nation’s financial system by funding homeownership and rental housing, small businesses, infrastructure and jobs in their communities. The FHLBanks contribute 10 percent of their net income to affordable housing through AHP, which is the nation’s largest source of private grant funds for affordable housing. The FHLBanks have distributed nearly $4 billion in AHP funds since 1990.
NHC “Housing Person of the Year” Gala to Honor AHP on Its 20th Anniversary
It is important to note that on June 9, 2010 NHC will honor the FHLBanks’ Affordable Housing Program with its prestigious “Housing Person of the Year” Award at its 38th Annual Gala in Washington, DC.