Message From Our Executive Director
At the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), we know that affordable housing has the power to transform lives, neighborhoods, and entire communities across our state. Whether we are helping a family to buy their first home, giving a renter the sense of security they had not felt in years, or helping local leaders plan for their city’s future, our programs and investments create lasting, positive change for the people of Illinois. And in years filled with unprecedented challenges across the entire housing industry, we are proud to report that IHDA emerged as a stronger and more resilient agency as we have continued to build a better future for all Illinoisans.
Through 2022 and 2023, IHDA awarded more than $4 billion in affordable housing financing while navigating a challenging economic environment to achieve strong mission-driven results. During this time, IHDA has maintained its core business line production, developed new ways to understand and address regional housing needs, and earned credit rating increases from each of the nationally recognized rating agencies of Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings.
As high interest rates and rising home prices created challenges for historically underserved homebuyers, IHDA closed on $2.6 billion in first mortgage financing, $101.3 million in down payment assistance, and continued our efforts to increase homeownership in diverse communities of all sizes across the state. Thanks to strategic outreach efforts and thoughtful program design, more than 15,200 Illinois residents bought a home with an IHDA mortgage in 2022 and 2023 – an estimated 5.2% of all home sales in Illinois in that time.
“...affordable housing has the power to transform lives, neighborhoods, and entire communities across our state...”
While rising rents and limited inventory created affordability challenges for renters, IHDA made great strides to meet the housing needs of vulnerable populations, build environmentally sustainable communities, and foster equity and inclusion within the real estate industry. In the past two years, IHDA closed on 100 multifamily transactions totaling $3.2 billion in state, federal, and leveraged private sector financing that created or preserved 8,700 units of affordable rental housing in communities across the state.
Finally, housing stability continued to be a focus as we assisted Illinoisans who could not pay their rent, mortgage or related housing costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 and 2023, IHDA made awards totaling $502.1 million to 27,300 renters and 16,800 homeowners who may have otherwise faced eviction or foreclosure. These programs are now closed, but we continue to find creative ways to support families in need as residents across the state experience financial hardships.
These have been exciting times for IHDA, and we look forward to building on this success in the years ahead. I want to thank the Members of the IHDA Board whose perspectives have been crucial as we responded to changing markets and new challenges. Their dedication and commitment to IHDA’s mission and the people of Illinois has been invaluable. We are also grateful for our partners, including Governor Pritzker’s administration, the Illinois General Assembly, and the many developers, lenders, property managers, non-profits, and others who make these results possible and allow IHDA to center our work on the residents of Illinois.
It is my pleasure to share with you some of these stories and results from the years 2022 and 2023 as we reflect on the power of housing to transform lives and communities across Illinois.
Sincerely,
Kristin Faust
Executive Director
Transforming Illinois
IHDA awarded more than $4 billion in affordable housing financing while navigating a challenging economic environment to achieve strong, mission-driven results.
