The Atlanta Development Authority Tuesday said it closed a $25 million single-family housing bond issue funded through the new-issue bond program using authority granted under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
The U.S. Treasury designed the new bond program to enable housing finance authorities to issue debt that is purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and securitized by the Treasury.
On Tuesday, the Atlanta Urban Residential Finance Authority, a subsidiary of the ADA, issued $25 million of bonds to finance 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with an anticipated interest rate of between 5% and 5.125%. The debt funding must be disbursed by Dec. 31.
The authority now is accepting applications from lending institutions that want to participate in the program.
“In an economically challenging housing market, we are proud to be in a position to make the dream of homeownership a reality for 180 families this year,” Dawn Luke, deputy managing director of housing finance for the ADA, said in a news release.
Eligible properties must be located in the city of Atlanta and can be newly constructed, existing, or foreclosures. The maximum purchase price of a home is $374,268 inside a specific target area and $306,219 outside the target area.
Borrowers purchasing homes in the target area do not have to be first-time homebuyers, but they must sell their current residence before closing on the new property. Outside the target area, buyers must be buying their first home and should not have had an ownership interest in a principal residence for the past three years. Loans must be insured by the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac. Income limits apply.
Buyers can also qualify for the Opportunity Bond or Beltline Affordable Housing Trust Fund mortgage assistance loans, which provide the borrowers with additional down-payment assistance of 10% to 20% of the sales price.
