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CalHFA committee prioritizes middle‑income housing, employer‑funded shared‑appreciation pilot and MyHome expansion
Summary
Committee members ranked near‑term priorities and asked staff for concept papers on middle‑income local‑agency housing, an employer‑funded shared‑appreciation pilot using CalHFA's Dream‑for‑All framework, and potential MyHome down‑payment assistance expansion (funded via taxable bonds); ADU financing and infill/adaptive reuse were deemed important but research‑intensive.
At its inaugural meeting the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) New Opportunities Committee identified a short list of prioritized topics staff should develop into concept papers: a middle‑income housing exploration tied to local public‑agency land, an employer‑funded shared‑appreciation down‑payment pilot, and potential expansions to the agency's MyHome down‑payment assistance program.
Middle‑income/local public‑agency housing: Staff described a pilot to identify local public agencies with available land and workforce housing demand, assess possible ownership structures and the capital stack, and test whether CalHFA involvement would be additive. Finance staff said earlier exploratory conversations with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) have been held and suggested this concept could be advanced more quickly than other ideas.
Shared‑appreciation employer pilot: Staff outlined a pilot that would pair employer‑funded down‑payment assistance for employees with a CalHFA first mortgage, leveraging CalHFA's existing Dream‑for‑All program infrastructure and private capital markets to securitize the first mortgage. Committee members welcomed the plug‑and‑play idea but raised fair‑housing and eligibility concerns; staff emphasized that borrowers would still need to qualify for CalHFA first mortgages.
MyHome expansion and taxable bonds: Staff proposed exploring a taxable bond execution to increase recyclable funds for MyHome, which could raise down‑payment assistance toward ~5% (instead of current ~3–3.5%) and improve access for manufactured‑housing purchasers and certain new‑construction scenarios.
ADU financing and infill/adaptive reuse: Members acknowledged ADU financing is a potentially high‑impact tool but noted long construction timelines, capital intensity and complexity (multiple product variants and secondary‑market considerations). Infill/adaptive reuse (office‑to‑housing) and other ideas—such as a rescue/workout fund, deeper ELI/VLI lending, and pursuing HUD Section 8 project‑based contract administration opportunities—were discussed as research priorities but not elevated above the three top items.
Next steps: Staff will provide concise concept papers and worksheets for the prioritized items and return to the committee with those materials (staff cited an Aug. 15 materials deadline to support an Aug. 22 tentative follow‑up). The committee expects recommended priorities will be summarized for the full board in September.
