AHFA has seen a significant upswing of interest in the Multifamily Bond program over the last year. The 2022 Bond Cap of $138,596,618 was requested by June of this year. As of November 30, AHFA issued approximately $126,000,000 of Multifamily Bond funds to 20 projects in 14 counties yielding 1,143 units in 2022. There are currently 4 projects in the AHFA Multifamily Bond pipeline. AHFA has an open Multifamily Bond cycle and makes awards based on a project’s ability to successfully fulfill the closing requirements. Details for submitting a Multifamily Bond application are available on the AHFA website.

Effective December 8, 2022, and until further notice, AHFA will not be accepting Multifamily Housing Revenue Bond applications. 

Benefits of Applying for Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds as a Funding Source

Interested in Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds as a source of funding in the future? Read on to find out why they are a useful option.

1. Not subject to the Competitive Application Cycle: Multifamily Housing Revenue Bond applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. They do not compete with other applications during the competitive Application Cycle for Housing Credits, HOME funds and National Housing Trust Funds (HTF).
2. Finance multiple projects in one transaction: Multiple projects may be “pooled” together under one bond issue to help mitigate the bond costs.
3. Access soft (gap) funding sources subject to eligibility: New construction Multifamily Housing Revenue Bond applications may be eligible to apply for HTF and HOME funds as additional sources of funds.
4. Not limited to the states per capita credit pool: If as least 50% of the project’s aggregate basis (land plus depreciable basis) is financed by tax exempt bonds, the project qualifies for the 4% tax credit.

For more information about Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds, contact Chris Hert at chert@ahfa.com. 

Prior to the pandemic, the construction period for new multifamily rental properties receiving allocations of AHFA Housing Credit and HOME funding averaged 25 months from the time of the original allocation. Post-pandemic the average construction period has grown significantly due to material shortages, supply chain disruptions and fluctuating construction costs. As a result, completion of projects has slowed or completely stalled. Below is a summary of construction trends across projects approved prior to and during the pandemic. 

Construction periods covered in this summary are projects that received allocations from 2016 to 2021. Based upon our analysis, projects that begin construction during the initial stages of the pandemic such as 2019 have demonstrated construction delays with an average construction period of 27 months. Currently only 65% of the 2019 projects are at 100% completion, while 2020 and 2021 projects demonstrate minimal to no progress. AHFA is working to protect the feasibility of all previously awarded projects within the statutory and regulatory constraints of the programs it administers. To that end, the granting of extensions, swapping of credits, and re-underwriting of previously awarded projects results in fewer awards in the current and upcoming competitive cycles. 

During the 2022 HOME/Housing Credit Competitive Application Cycle, AHFA received a total of seven Multifamily Funding applications consisting of four HOME and Housing Credit combined applications and three Housing Credit-only applications.

In accordance with applicable AHFA plans and federal requirements, AHFA staff completed a thorough review of each application and recommended to the AHFA Board of Directors that six applications should receive funding.  

2022 Competitive Cycle by the Numbers

• Counties: 6 (Dallas, Montgomery, Mobile, Clarke, Greene, and Etowah)
• Total Housing Credit $6,531,850 (6 Projects) / Total HOME $4,818,718 (3 Projects)
• Elderly 4 / Multifamily 2
• Acquisition & Rehab 3 / New Construction 3
• For-Profit 3 / Non-Profit 3
• Total Units 290 / Set-Aside Units (Disabled, Homeless, Veterans) 20 

See below for upcoming annual submission deadlines from AHFA's Compliance Department. The compliance staff will also be hosting training sessions via Zoom to help you stay up-to-date on compliance monitoring procedures.

To register for one of the Zoom trainings, you must send your email address to mfcompliance@ahfa.com. If you have any other questions, please email the Compliance Department at mfcompliance@ahfa.com.

The AHFA offices will be closed on the following dates in observance of holidays: 

• Christmas: Friday and Monday, December 23 & 26  
• New Year's: Monday, January 2
• King/Lee: Monday, January 16