Georgia committee hears bill to raise GHFA bond cap from $3B to $12B to sustain first-time homebuyer loans

House Bill 159 (LC 33 9765) was presented at a hearing of the House Committee on Budget and Fiscal Oversight on a proposal to raise the GHFA aggregate bond cap from $3,000,000,000 to $12,000,000,000 to continue financing Georgia Dream and related first-time homebuyer loan programs.

The bill matters because GHFA uses private-activity bonds to buy and finance mortgages for lower-income and first-time buyers; those loans are largely insured by federal programs and are not backed by the state's full faith and credit. Wesley Brooks, deputy commissioner for homeownership at the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which houses the Georgia Housing Finance Authority, told the committee GHFA issues private-activity bonds in the market and uses the proceeds to buy qualifying loans from local lenders and service them in-house. Brooks said the agency has serviced about 53,000 first-time homebuyer loans since inception and currently services roughly 14,000 mortgages representing about $1.8 billion in outstanding assets.

Brooks described the mechanics the agency uses…