In many instances, much of the initial funding for
the agencies may have been provided by the state or
locality, and key members of the agencies may be
appointed by elected officials.
The key to this analysis is to identify detractors
of the authority, if there are any, and find biparti-
san support for the authority’s programs. This can
be demonstrated by a history of legislative
approvals of annual budgets, special programs,
additional funding, housing legislation, and so
forth. Also, the autonomy of the management team,
should be unaffected by gubernatorial and legisla-
tive elections. The agency also should anticipate the
housing needs of the legislatures’ constituents and
continue to develop programs to address them.
Economy
Analysis of the state or local economic base
includes evaluating the impact of changes in
demand for housing, the impact of changing regula-
tory and legislative environment for low-and mod-
erate-income housing, and the dependence on
specific industries and how that may affect the
agency’s mortgage portfolio.
Housing in larger states with more diverse
economies is less affected by economic trends than
housing in smaller geographic regions. Therefore,
the critical factors will vary based upon the region
in which the HFA operates.■Housing Finance Agencieshttp://www.standardandpoors.com 293