Tallahassee, FL - Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) is proud to share this year’s housing achievements under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, our partners in the Florida Legislature, and the Florida Housing Board of Directors.

2024 Legislative Session:

For the sixth year in a row, Governor Ron DeSantis recommended full funding for the state’s affordable housing trust funds, with a total appropriation of $508 million. This year continued the effort to help Florida families live in the communities where they work with the passage of Senate Bill 328. Florida Housing is proud our legislative priority was included in SB 328, prohibiting bad actors from utilizing these precious resources that expand housing availability, down payment assistance, and a variety of other new and innovative opportunities.

Florida Housing’s state appropriation for the 2024-2025 fiscal year:

• $234 million for the SAIL program to provide low interest loans to developers building workforce housing.

• This includes $150 million for the Live Local SAIL program, which is dedicated to financing innovative approaches to building affordable rental units for Florida’s workforce and military communities.

• $174 million for the SHIP program to provide local governments with incentives to build partnerships with developers who are preserving available housing or producing more housing.

• $100 million for the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time home buyers employed full-time with a Florida-based employer

Homeownership Accomplishments:

• Assisted 10,638 families in purchasing their first home through Florida Housing’s Homebuyer Loan Program by providing more than $3.1 billion in first mortgage assistance and more than $129 million in total down payment and closing cost assistance.
• Launched the Hometown Heroes Housing Program 2024 with an additional $100 million on July 1, for any first-time homebuyers employed full-time by a Florida-based employer who were seeking to purchase a primary residence in Florida. These funds were fully committed on August 20.
• In 2024, the Hometown Heroes programs have provided a total of 7,768 homeowners with more than $2.4 billion in first mortgage volume, supported by $124 million of down payment and closing cost assistance.
• The HOME program, which provides non-amortizing, low-interest rate loans to developers of affordable housing, provided more than $ 24.2 million in HOME loans to finance the construction of 105 affordable units for Florida families. The HOME-ARP program was announced in 2022 and provides funding to reduce homeless and increase housing stability. From Florida Housing’s HOME-ARP allocation, $20,495,900 was made available for 109 units.
• In partnership with the Department of Commerce’s Rebuild Florida program, Florida Housing closed on four Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) loans, providing $6.15 million in funds for a total of 120 units.  Additionally, two new subrecipient agreements for Hurricane Sally ($25 million) and Hurricane Ian ($100 million) were finalized in 2024.
• The Homeownership Pool (HOP) Program assists developers by matching qualified homebuyers with down payment assistance on a first-come, first-served basis. This year 146 borrowers have participated with a total of $3,825,000 in down payment assistance provided.
• The National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) is a federal program that provides forgivable loans to developers to produce and preserve affordable housing for extremely low-income households provided more than $22.9 million to finance the construction of 83 ELI units.
• Florida Housing is the issuer of bonds that fund single family first mortgages; in 2024, $597.5 million in bonds were issued. Of that total, $335.8 million were tax-exempt bonds and $261.7 million were taxable bonds.

Multifamily/Rental Housing Development:

• Awarded 82 Developments, totaling 9,084 units through the following Florida Housing administered loans/bonds/grants and housing credit allocations:

• $70,984,120 in 9% Housing Credits
• $134,066,902 in State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) funding
• $186,602,421 in Live Local SAIL funding
• $50,000,000 in Live Local Program Tax Credit program funding
• $22,822,768 in HOME funding
• $5,644,500 in Grant funding
• A combined $43,661,300 in National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) and HOME-ARP funding
• $120,150,000 in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recover (CDBG-DR) funding
• A portion of these developments were also financed utilizing Multifamily Mortgage Revenue Bonds (MMRB) totaling $902,090,137 and an estimated $219,527,064 in 4% Housing Credits

• Awarded 24 Developments, totaling 3,832 units including the following Florida Housing administered bonds and/or housing credit allocations:

• $188,043,000 in MMRB funding
• An estimated $58,974,612 in 4% Housing Credits

• Launched the new Live Local Program Tax Credit on October 1, giving businesses the opportunity to contribute to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation to benefit the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) Program, which provides low-interest loans for the development of quality affordable housing. In return, these businesses receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit reduction. To date, this program has received $100,141,667 in contributions, with an additional $2,570,00 in tax credit reservations.

In addition to these successes, Florida Housing’s issuer rating increased from A1 Stable to A1 Positive, reflecting positive portfolio performance with minimal risk exposure. Moody’s Ratings attributes this increase in rating to Florida Housing’s strong operating performance. We are grateful to Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for their continued support of Florida Housing and making housing affordable.

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Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) was created by the state Legislature more than 40 years ago to serve as the state’s housing finance agency (HFA). We administer state and federal resources to help provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for the citizens of Florida.

Tallahassee, FL - Today, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation announced that the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing program has provided more than $50 million in down payment and closing cost assistance to help Florida’s workforce purchase a home. Since the launch of the third cycle of funding on July 1, 2024, the program has provided a total of $61.3 million to 3,745 families throughout the state. Veterans/active-duty military, nurses, teachers, and law enforcement officers continue to lead the charge as some of the top utilizers of this program.

“Florida Housing is proud to have assisted thousands of Florida’s workforce in reaching the goal of homeownership within the communities they work and serve,” said Angie Sellers, Chief Financial Officer of Florida Housing Finance Corporation. “The Hometown Heroes Program changes lives. Florida Housing is honored to play a part in helping our neighbors afford a home and communities grow. We appreciate the Governor’s continued support of Florida’s hardworking families.”

The Florida Hometown Heroes program makes homeownership affordable for eligible community workforce. This program also offers a competitive first mortgage interest rate and other special benefits to those who have served and continue to serve their country. Eligible homebuyers can receive up to 5% of their first mortgage loan amount (up to a maximum of $35,000) in the form of a 0%, non-amortizing, 30-year second mortgage. To qualify, homebuyers must connect with one of Florida Housing’s participating loan officers, have a minimum credit score of 640, work full-time for a Florida-based employer and meet the income threshold for their county.

For more information on the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program, please visit www.floridahousing.org/hometownheroes.

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Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing) was created by the state Legislature more than 40 years ago to serve as the state’s housing finance agency (HFA) that administers state and federal resources to help provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for the citizens of Florida.