Today, the Morrison Coalition Government, through the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC), has announced its biggest investment in affordable housing in Western Australia to date, with a $35 million concessional loan to community housing provider Foundation Housing.
The 10-year, low-interest loan provided through NHFIC’s Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator, will allow Foundation Housing to refinance its existing debt and save an anticipated $7.8 million.
These savings can be reinvested in new social and affordable housing and wraparound services for tenants including careers programs, mental health programs, as well as financial and living skills.
NHFIC is a key part of the Australian Government’s Reducing Pressure on Housing Affordability plan, announced in the 2017-18 Federal Budget.
This is NHFIC’s second loan to a Western Australian community housing provider and forms part of its second social bond issuance, which was released to market this week.
In less than 18 months since commencing operations, the NHFIC Board has now approved more than $830 million in concessional loans to community housing providers, potentially saving them more than $100 million in interest and other costs.
Also, since its commencement NHFIC’s is supporting the delivery of more than 1,000 new and 3,600 existing social and affordable homes for Australians across the country.