New York Life, Nationwide and Bank of Labor join US housing impact fund

New York Life, Nationwide and Bank of Labor have joined Nuveen, Pacific Life Insurance Company and Farmers Insurance in backing a US affordable-housing impact fund.

Impact Community Capital said it had raised from $210m (€179m) for Impact Mortgage Opportunities Fund, which seeks to address what it calls a “looming affordable housing preservation crisis”.

In April, IPE Real Assets reported that Nuveen, Pacific Life and Farmers Insurance had committed $130m. Today, Impact Community Capital said it had closed fundraising five months ahead of schedule.

The fund seeks to make positive social change by preserving existing affordable multifamily properties while providing investors with market-rate returns.

Impact Community Capital said affordability restrictions on hundreds of thousands of federally assisted homes are set to end in the coming years, placing properties at risk of becoming market-rate rentals.

The fund provides short-term bridge loans to developers and owners of affordable housing that want to preserve their properties’ affordability status, giving them time to apply for permanent financing and government subsidy programmes.

Impact Community Capital expects to preserve over 5,000 affordable units across the US.

“To address the critical need for quality, safe, and affordable housing across the country, we have to meet the short-term challenge of preserving the current at-risk housing supply,” said Jeff Brenner, president and CEO of Impact Community Capital.

“The Impact Mortgage Opportunities Fund will do this by providing the additional capital and time developers need to complete the work that will preserve the affordability status of existing housing.”

Nationwide CIO Joel Coleman said: “As one of the founding members of Impact Community Capital, Nationwide is dedicated to supporting efforts that provide affordable housing because it is paramount to fostering socioeconomic opportunity, and we’re committed to finding investments that will ultimately enhance the quality of life for individuals and families.

“We are proud to work with Impact on the Impact Mortgage Opportunities Fund, which will ensure that affordable housing continues to be an accessible reality to our most vulnerable community members for years to come.”