Following up on our discussion
According to Thomson Reuters figures published in our sister publication Bond Buyer, housing bond volume jumped 36.1% between the first half of 2011 and the first half of this year. The second quarter was especially robust, jumping a whopping 53.1% from the year before.
Of course, state HFAs aren’t just bond plays. They administer the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program as well, one of the premier models for building affordable multifamily housing.
But the housing bond business seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. For the first half of 2012, the total was $4.2 billion, up from $3.1 billion in the first half of 2011. In the second quarter, volume leaped from $2 billion last year to more than $3 billion this year.
Multifamily had an especially robust first half, jumping 59.3% to $1.9 billion, although the dollar amount continued to be higher for single-family bonds at $2.3 billion.
The vast majority of the $4.2 billion total came through tax-exempt bonds ($3.1 billion). New-money issues were $2.8 billion, outpacing refundings ($423.7 million) and combined issues ($320.3 million). Refundings, however, surged by a whopping 526%.
Fixed-rate bonds continued to be the favorite at $3.2 billion. ariable rates were $902 million and linked rates were $104.3 million.
State HFAs were the sellers of the vast majority of housing bonds in the first half, at $3.5 billion. Local authorities tracked at $644.4 million. None were done by tribal governments, counties, parishes and districts.
The biggest deals were $260 million of multifamily bonds issued by the New York State Housing Finance Agency, followed by a $248.8 million MF deal by the New York City Housing Development Corp. The third-biggest issue came from California’s Department of Veterans Affairs, $220 million in single-family refundings.
The biggest senior managers were Citi ($1.12 billion), JPMorgan ($909.8 million) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch ($737.7 million). The top financial advisors were Lamont Financial Services, $608.8 million, CSG Advisors, $408.9 million, and Caine Mitter, $225.8 million.
It will be fascinating to see if this rebound in housing bonds continues this quarter!
