MassHousing’s mortgage insurance fund is delivering job-loss benefits to homeowners who are out of work due to the pandemic. Unlike traditional private mortgage insurance (PMI), which only protects the lender, MIPlus® from MassHousing helps the borrower as well. MIPlus helps to cover principal and interest payments for up to six months if the borrower loses their job and demonstrates that they are receiving unemployment benefits. Just since March of 2020, MassHousing has paid out 525 claims for $526,708. Learn more about MI Plus or check eligibility and file a claim.

 Have you seen any changes in the market for first-time home buyers over the last four months?

To my amazement, the pandemic has affected the process of home buying, but not the market itself, at least not nearly to the degree most of us imagined.

We saw more loan volume in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year (which ended June 30), than in any of the other three quarters. We did one-third of our lending in Q4 (April-June), which is remarkable. I would attribute that to three things. First, the low interest rates across the country. Second, the power of Down Payment Assistance (DPA) from MassHousing. Our program, which offers DPA up to $15,000 with either a 1% or 2% interest rate on the DPA loan, is helping people get into the market who otherwise might not. Or it is helping some people keep a little more money in the bank after closing, rather than spending it all on a down payment. Third, the pandemic has somewhat changed social and living dynamics. More people are opting to move out of metro Boston, to areas where they can afford more space, due to the increase in the numbers of people working remotely.

We are also seeing an uptick in second-time buyers, who are using our MassHousing Mortgage loan which allows incomes up to 135% of AMI. There were also a lot of refinancing loans in fiscal year 2020, 20 percent actually.

We ended the fiscal year very strong, not only in terms of the number of loans – financing for 3,451 individuals or families – but also in terms of serving the populations that are at the core of our mission, mainly, people of modest means buying their first home and buyers of color. Here are the statistics:

Well, for those who do not know, MIPlus is MassHousing’s proprietary mortgage insurance (MI) product, and the "Plus" is job-loss protection for the borrower. If a MassHousing borrower who has our mortgage insurance loses their job, MassHousing will help pay their principal and interest for up to six months. It has been a tremendous help to people during the pandemic. Since March 1, we have paid out 525 claims for $526,708, and of course with all the unemployment we are still paying claims. Many of our borrowers who have both MIPlus and a forbearance agreement with us (as a result of the pandemic), will come out of their forbearance agreements in a much stronger position because we advanced them up to six months of principal and interest, which they will not need to pay back.

The last time we had a major crisis that affected our servicing operation was the 2008-2012 financial crisis and the recession. This time, with the pandemic, the drastic change was not caused by a systemic problem in the financial system, but rather by a public health crisis. We had to react so quickly to keep operating. It was a Herculean task to arrange for our staff to set up home offices in their kitchens, dining rooms or spare rooms and continue to service billions of dollars in loans. But we did it. In less than a month, we had transitioned to remote work and we never shut down. Our servicing staff has been heroic, not only in terms of their own logistical challenges but also in managing a new regulatory landscape, thanks to the CARES Act as well as laws and regulations from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the secondary market. We are operating quite efficiently now. We hope this public health crisis can be solved soon. Until then we will continue to serve our customers from our remote offices with as much care and compassion as ever.

MassHousing works with a network of more than 100 lenders across the Commonwealth to make our affordable mortgage loans available to first-time homebuyers. Our HomeOwnership lending wouldn't be possible without the hard work and dedication of each of these partners. In particular, we'd like to highlight the efforts of our top producing loan officers from FY 2020. These 41 mortgage professionals each originated 10 or more MassHousing loans last year, accounting for a total of $182.4 million in financing.

View the Top Loan Originator list.

The MassHousing Diversity & Inclusion Business Opportunities Report has been updated and is now available. The Report helps diverse business owners connect with prospective business opportunities at MassHousing-financed multifamily developments and construction projects. There are more than 1,900 opportunities covering 57 trades and professions. Search the Business Opportunities Report.

MassHousing continues to provide valuable, timely information and insight to our housing and social service partners.

The Community Services Department procured a webinar platform in early April and leveraged existing relationships with high quality trainers and subject matter experts to offer both COVID-19 specific and existing content as webinars.

The Department held its first webinar on April 6 – only two weeks after the Governor issued an Executive Order closing all non-essential business and advised residents to stay at home. Since then, Community Services has offered 39 webinars in total with 3,559 registrants and 2,447 additional people on waiting lists. MassHousing has waived all training fees in order to get this important content to as many people as possible. Examples of training topics are

While housing prices have climbed to record highs in Greater Boston, the Commonwealth's Gateway Cities struggle with the challenges of weak real estate markets. This webinar will explore the ongoing neighborhood stabilization challenges facing Gateway Cities, current initiatives to support neighborhood revitalization, and new State programs and funds available for stabilization efforts. Learn more and register today.