Federal bond assistance for affordable housing

Two Sydney-based community housing providers have been given a boost by the federal government’s bond aggregate.

National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation chief Nathan Dal Bon

Two Sydney-based community housing providers have been given a boost by the federal government’s bond aggregate through two loans valued at more than $85 million to deliver affordable social dwellings.

National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation yesterday awarded a $40m loan to Bridge Housing and a $45.7m construction loan to BlueCHP to refinance existing projects and fund new ones.

NHFIC chief executive Nathan Dal Bon said the long-term certainty and cost savings for community housing providers were critical to helping accelerate and increase the supply of social and affordable housing.

“CHPs can use these savings to initiate additional new social and affordable housing projects, including in growth corridors and inner-city areas that are among the most challenging when it comes to affordability,” Mr Dal Bon said.

BlueCHP received the NHFIC’s first construction loan, facilitating at least 93 new dwellings in affordable housing projects at Lane Cove and Liverpool. An extra $6m loan will be made available upon completion of the project. Both proposed sites are being acquired under the NSW government’s Communities Plus program.

“In the projects we have ­financed to date, NHFIC has demonstrated the tangible benefits of delivering low-cost, long-tenor financing to CHPs,” Mr Dal Bon said. “Extending our financing into construction enables us to work with CHPs to accelerate the delivery of new housing supply for Australians in need.”

Bridge Housing was awarded $40m on a low interest over a ­10-year term to support four affordable housing projects in Glebe, Ashfield, Parramatta and Bungarribee, near Blacktown.

In addition, the provider will develop 16 townhouses in ­Dulwich Hill in Sydney’s inner-west and acquire and refurbish units in Punchbowl in southwest Sydney, expected to total $12.6m.

The loans will offer each housing provider significant savings, with Bridge Housing set to save as much as $7m in interest over the loan’s life. BlueCHP’s two-year loan at less than 4 per cent interest should generate about $600,000 in savings.