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Goal: Increase the Availability of Affordable Homes
Role: Generate Capital

While successful efforts to reduce regulatory barriers can help expand the supply of affordable homes, in many communities, additional resources are needed to bring the price of homes within reach of working families. Our research uncovered a range of promising
approaches for generating revenue for this purpose, including leveraging additional federal funds through the 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, supporting the issuance of general obligation bonds for affordable housing, and mobilizing employers to help their workers find affordable homes.

This section focuses on tools to generate capital at the state and local levels to support affordable housing. However, the federal government continues to be the largest source of funding for the preservation, development, and operation of affordable homes for renters and owners. Learn more about these federal programs.


Click on the policies below to learn more about ways to implement this strategy.

Improve and Expand Use of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program helps developers access capital for the construction and rehabilitation of homes for working families. Two types of tax credits are available to increase and preserve the stock of affordable rental homes.


Provide Pre-Development and Acquisition Financing

One Church Street
Up-front expenses, including the costs associated with purchasing land, can present a barrier to small, community- based nonprofits and other developers of affordable homes. Pre-development and acquisition financing helps organizations obtain the resources to keep development on track.

Support Housing Bond Issues

Villas on Sixth
General obligation bonds are issued by local or state governments and repaid through tax levies or appropriations authorized by the legislature. While potentially challenging to secure, bonds provide a valuable and flexible source of funding for affordable homes.
Use Housing Finance Agency Reserves for Affordable Homes
Row 8.9n
To maximize housing finance agencies' effectiveness in meeting the community's housing needs, states and localities can work with agencies to determine whether some portion of their reserve funds may be available to support ongoing investment in affordable homes.

Leverage Employers' Commitment to Affordable Homes for Workers
Plainview Homes
In communities lacking an adequate supply of homes affordable to working families, employers can have difficulty maintaining a qualified workforce. Growing numbers of employers are getting involved in efforts to increase the availability of homes for their workers and the broader community.

Create or Expand Dedicated Housing Trust Funds
Crystal Creek Townhomes
Housing trust funds are flexible sources of financing for affordable homes, and work best when supported by a stable, dedicated funding source. Trust funds can be a useful tool for supplementing other housing programs.



Photo credits (clockwise from upper left): Greater Grays Ferry Estates, Philadelphia PA -- photo courtesy of Philadelphia Housing Authority; One Church Street, San Francisco CA -- photo credit: Donald Stasenka, courtesy of BRIDGE Housing; Villas on Sixth, Austin TX -- photo courtesy of City of Austin/Neighborhood Housing and Community Development; Crystal Creek Townhomes, Sierra Vista AZ -- photo courtesy of Arizona Department of Housing; Plainview Homes, Rochester MN -- photo courtesy of Greater Minnesota Housing Fund; Row 8.9n, Nashville TN -- photo courtesy of Affordable Housing Resources