CalHFA’s Mixed-Income Program Reaches the Missing Middle with Lower Total Development Cost per Unit

SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Housing Finance Agency has released an analysis of its Mixed-Income Program (MIP), which was launched in 2019 and expanded with additional state resources in 2020. MIP is especially novel in California where there is no other state rental housing program that provides subsidy for people making above 60% of the area median income, a group that is often called the “Missing Middle.”

MIP was designed to serve a range of income levels up to 120% of AMI, with the developments averaging 60% of AMI, taking advantage of income averaging. MIP’s streamlined finance model will produce more housing in less time and with less public subsidy. CalHFA’s analysis compared the first 20 MIP projects that received commitments to other projects that received bonds and tax credits in the same funding rounds. The total development cost per unit on the MIP projects is less by $119,000, and the first four MIP projects went from application to construction start in 12 months or less. MIP projects are also more likely to be in areas of high opportunity.

About California Housing Finance Agency
For more than 40 years, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) has supported the needs of renters and homebuyers by providing financing and programs so more low to moderate income Californians have a place to call home. Established in 1975, CalHFA was chartered as the state’s affordable housing lender. The Agency’s Multifamily Division finances affordable rental housing through partnerships with jurisdictions, developers and more, while its Single Family Division provides first mortgage loans and down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers. CalHFA is a completely self-supporting state agency, and its bonds are repaid by revenues generated through mortgage loans, not taxpayer dollars.