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(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors today awarded a total of more than $15 million in federal housing tax credits and HOME program loans to support the construction and rehabilitation of a total of 410 affordable rental homes for Iowans. The awards were made to 11 rental housing projects located in Ames, Burlington, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Keokuk, Mount Vernon, Sioux City and West Burlington.

“Housing is foundational to the economic mobility of Iowans and the strength of our communities,” said Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham.

“THE FINANCING ANNOUNCED TODAY WILL PROVIDE HUNDREDS OF IOWA FAMILIES AND SENIORS WITH HOMES IN WHICH THEY CAN THRIVE IN COMMUNITIES ALL THROUGHOUT THE STATE.”

“Not only will the new Keokuk Family Flats provide an additional 47 rental homes in our community, but it will also be a tremendous catalyst for economic ripple effects as more of our workforce will be able to live near where they work,” said City of Keokuk Mayor Kathie Mahoney.

Housing Tax Credits
The Internal Revenue Service makes an annual per capita allocation of federal tax credits to each state for the Federal Housing Tax Credit program. The Iowa Finance Authority is charged with allocating those credits to affordable housing developers. The developers who receive tax credits sell them to investors to generate equity for the housing developments.

The Iowa Finance Authority received 24 applications requesting more than $22 million in housing tax credits in the 2023 tax credit round. IFA had a total of approximately $10 million available to allocate. The actual awards total nearly $100 million because the credits are committed annually for a 10-year period.

HOME Program
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocates HOME program funding among states and hundreds of localities nationwide. IFA allocates Iowa’s allocation of HOME funds to eligible entities to build and preserve affordable housing. The IFA Board of Directors today approved $5.1 million in HOME funds to support eight rental housing tax credit projects.

View Award Listing Here

DES MOINES – The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors today awarded a $50,000 grant to Warren County Habitat for Humanity to support the construction of a single-family home in Indianola. The funding is made available through the State Housing Trust Fund’s Project-Based Housing program.

“The Iowa Finance Authority is proud to work in partnership with Warren County Habitat for Humanity on our shared mission of advancing housing opportunities for Iowans,” said Iowa Finance Authority Director Debi Durham.

“THE AWARD GRANTED TODAY WILL HELP YET ANOTHER FAMILY REALIZE THEIR DREAM OF BECOMING HOMEOWNERS WHILE PROVIDING BENEFITS TO THE GREATER INDIANOLA COMMUNITY FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.”  

The new ranch-style home will include approximately 1,150 square feet of finished living space with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, an unfinished basement and garage on the property. The Habitat partner family purchasing the home will receive financial, home repair, homeownership, and foreclosure prevention education and must complete the required sweat equity hours prior to closing.

“The State Housing Trust Fund is a critical financing source for meeting local housing needs,” said Agi Gavin, Warren County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director. “This grant will support the construction of a new home for a deserving local family in need and will also move the demolition of an inhabitable home on the property forward. This project is a great example of the funding helping us both restore available housing stock in our region and providing a fresh start for one family.”

The State Housing Trust Fund has awarded more than $112 million in funding and has assisted more than 36,800 affordable housing units since the program’s inception in 2003. These awards have leveraged an additional $176.5 million, or $1.57 in other resources, for every dollar of State Housing Trust Fund funding.

The Iowa Legislature created the Iowa Finance Authority, in 1975 to undertake programs to assist in the attainment of housing for low- and moderate-income Iowans. Since then, the Iowa Finance Authority’s role has grown to include nearly 40 affordable housing, water quality and agricultural development programs.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) recently announced its 2022 top mortgage lenders and Realtors®. The awards were given to the lending institutions, loan originators and Realtors® who assisted the most homebuyers through IFA programs in 2022.

IFA offers mortgage and down payment assistance programs for Iowa homebuyers through a network of more than 400 lenders throughout the state. These partnerships offer Iowans the convenience of working with their local lender and access to IFA’s down payment and closing cost assistance programs.

In 2022, local lenders assisted 2,300 Iowans in purchasing a home using IFA mortgage and down payment assistance programs and nearly 64,000 have reached their goal of homeownership through the program since its inception.

“NOT ONLY IS HOMEOWNERSHIP A LEADING DRIVER OF WEALTH CREATION FOR FAMILIES, BUT IT IS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC CATALYST, WITH EVERY HOME SALE SPURRING ADDITIONAL LOCAL INVESTMENTS IN OUR COMMUNITIES,” SAID IFA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DEBI DURHAM.

“I congratulate our top partners for their work in making homeownership a reality for thousands of Iowans,” said Durham.

“The Lincoln Savings Bank team is honored to be named IFA’s Top Lender of 2022,” said Erik Skovgard, President and CEO of Lincoln Savings Bank. “As a community bank, we pride ourselves on being solution-seekers and relationship builders and offering IFA’s mortgage down payment assistance programs allows us to do just that for many Iowans who may not have believed that homeownership was within reach.”

More information about IFA’s homeownership programs, including an eligibility quick check and a list of lender partners is available at iowafinance.com.

View the 2022 Top Lenders and Realtors® here.