‘Felt like climbing Everest’: Housing funding agency hits $500 million in lending
Thursday, 11 June 2026
An organisation that provides finance to community housing providers has hit half a billion in lending after just 18 months, but it has no plans to slow down on its mission.
That’s because there is still so much hardship to tackle, with 19,617 people on the social housing list, and homelessness now at record high levels, the organisation’s chief executive says.
The Community Housing Funding Agency, which launched in late 2024, 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 debt financing for community housing providers (CHPs) to enable them to deliver homes at scale.
Read more:
Auckland apartment pipeline falls to lowest level since 2014
Housing growth fund leaves councils with ‘no excuses’ for inaction
Initially a privately managed social enterprise funded by charities, philanthropists and fund managers, last year it gained Government support with the establishment of Crown lending facilities of up to $150 million for it.
Community Housing Funding Agency chief executive James Palmer said reaching half a billion in lending was a significant milestone as it represented real homes and real progress for people who needed stable, affordable housing.
The growth reflected both the scale of New Zealand’s housing crisis and confidence in the agency's financing model, he said.
“New Zealand’s housing crisis is measured in the billions, so the solutions must be at the same scale, and the lending we have done will lead to hundreds of new homes being built.
“It has felt like climbing Everest at times, but reaching this milestone so quickly shows what is possible when financial innovation is backed by strong partnerships across government, investors, philanthropists, and community housing providers.”
There needed to be hundreds more new social homes built each year as tens of thousands of New Zealanders were waiting for homes that did not yet exist, he said.
“We are not understating the scale of the problem, but scalable solutions to the housing crisis are possible, and what has been achieved gives us reason for hope.”
When the agency launched it had five community housing providers signed up to access lending ‒ that had now grown to 34 around the country.
Those providers include Visionwest, Dwell Housing Trust, Monte Cecilia Housing Trust, The Salvation Army, CORT Community Housing, Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust, and Te Āhuru Mōwai.
Palmer said they now worked with most leading community housing providers which allowed for economies of scale, and one of the highlights of the past 18 months had been assisting with the refinancing of their lending.
“With the banks, community housing providers were paying about 8.5% interest rates, and we could enable refinancing at a fixed rate of 4% for three to five years.
“That has saved them thousands of dollars, and it makes a big difference, especially with the smaller providers. One smaller provider said the savings allowed them to buy 20 more homes.”
The Government’s support had helped the agency achieve an A+ credit rating from S&P Global Rating, and that in turn would help it support the delivery of more social homes, he said.
“But we would like to see the Government guarantee the bonds we issue ‒ as is the case with our equivalent in Australia ‒ as it would lower the cost of borrowing even further.
“We are saving millions already, and the Government's move last year was transformative, but there is so much more we could do to help people and make it cheaper for providers.”
The likes of Generate KiwiSaver, Westpac KiwiSaver Scheme, Harbour Asset Management, Pathfinder, and Simplicity have also helped underwrite the agency’s lending so far.
Palmer said the agency had no plans to slow down, and was proud to demonstrate that purpose-driven finance could deliver real outcomes for investors, the Government, its borrowers, and families needing a home.
Community housing providers currently provide 15,231 social homes, according to the Ministry of Housing and Development’s latest social housing stock figures.
That was up 70 on March, and up 2867 on June 2023.
With total housing stock currently at 87,877, it means community housing provider homes now account for just under 17.5% of it.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop has said the Government wanted to put community housing providers on a more level playing field with Kāinga Ora, and boost the number of social homes they provide.