Agency milestone opens door to more community housing

The agency has gained the international accreditation necessary to become the first domestic issuer of social bonds in New Zealand, along with an A+ credit rating from S&P Global Ratings, the agency announced last week.

That means it will be able to provide the lending to build thousands of new community homes, rather than hundreds, chief executive James Palmer said.

The agency works with philanthropists, banks and the Government to raise money to support lending for community and affordable housing. It offers privately guaranteed bonds to New Zealand investors who want their money to go to the “social good” of building new housing for those who need it. The bonds unlock lower-cost finance for community housing providers (CHPs) to enable them to deliver homes at scale.

The agency has gone from supporting five to nearly 20 community and affordable housing providers across the country. Providers include Visionwest, Dwell Housing Trust, Monte Cecilia Housing Trust, The Salvation Army, CORT Community Housing, Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust, Penina Trust and Ōwhata Kōhanga Rākau.

The agency was originally a privately managed social enterprise funded by charities, philanthropists and fund managers, but Government support and financial backing was announced in March. The Government committed $150 million to the agency and ANZ, an original supporter, upped its financial commitment to match it. That gave the agency a $300 million boost in funds.

Mr Palmer said the impact was immediate and the agency’s lending had now grown to over $350 million, up from $165 million when it started.

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‘Social bonds’ to boost community housing lending (By Miriam Bell/The Post)