The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority issued $146.8 million in bonds to finance affordable housing in the state.
The issuance contains $35.5 million in serial bonds and the remainder in term bonds. The serial bonds mature between 2024 and 2035, yielding between 3.15% and 4.05%. The term bonds yield up to 5.75%. The securities received a rating of Aaa from Moody’s Investors Service and AAA from S&P Global Ratings.
“The Aaa rating is based on the high overcollateralization of assets to liabilities, very strong program cash flows, a high percentage of government-insured loans and support from the State of Connecticut through the Housing Mortgage Capital Reserve Fund,” according to Moody’s.
The bonds issued this week will fund single family mortgage loans to moderate and low-income homebuyers. Last year, the authority closed $357 million in single family loans, financing homeownership for 1,610 homebuyers, according to the official statement accompanying the sale of the bonds.
Statewide, Connecticut officials are pushing to direct more money into affordable housing, which they view as necessary to combat a housing crisis. Earlier during the week of the issuance, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) pledged to push for more federal funding for affordable housing initiatives in Connecticut. The week prior, the mayor of Stamford signed an executive order to create 1,000 affordable apartments by 2025. The directive marked the first such order aimed at increasing affordable housing in the city, Connecticut’s second-largest.
The bonds are general obligations of the authority, secured by its revenue.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc served as lead underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $150 million. The price reflected a premium of $3 million.