NEWS HEADLINES

CHFA Back in the Bond Business

By Donna Kimura

The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) issued $90 million in fixed-rate, tax-exempt single-family mortgage revenue bonds in March.

It was CHFA’s first single-family bond issue since June 2008. The agency historically has issued bonds quarterly, but the frozen market kept it from issuing new bonds until now.

Demand exceeded availability by 2.4 to 1, with about $218.9 million in orders received.

 “There was pent up demand for good investments,” said Milroy A Alexander, executive director and CEO. The bonds were rated AAA.

Alexander estimated that only a handful of housing finance agencies have completed a bond issue so far this year.

To make the bonds more attractive in this tough economic environment, CHFA turn to a fixed-rate structure, a departure from the variable-rate bonds that the agency has typically issued in recent years.

The bonds sold at 2.4 percent to 5.5 percent interest, with maturity dates ranging from 2010 to 2029.

 About $28 million of the bonds were sold to Colorado retail investors, meaning individuals, said Alexander.