BOSTON – October 20, 2025 - The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) has recognized MassHousing for program excellence for the Agency's Momentum Fund, a first-in-the-nation revolving fund to support mixed-income rental housing production.
MassHousing received NCSHA's award for Rental Housing: Encouraging New Construction and Promoting Preservation with the Agency’s entry, The Future Is Now: MassHousing's Momentum Fund.
The Momentum Fund was created by the Healey-Driscoll Administration under the Affordable Homes Act. It is a new tool in the state's housing toolkit to accelerate the production of housing – especially middle-income units – without relying on typical grant and subsidy resources.
"MassHousing was proud to accept this award on behalf of the Agency and all our collaborative partners who share in our mission to confront the housing challenges faced by Massachusetts residents," said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. "The Momentum Fund provides flexible public funding that unlocks private investment and delivers new housing opportunities to working families across a broad range of incomes."
"MassHousing plays an essential role in our administration's efforts to increase housing production and lower costs for everyone. Because of their leadership, our Momentum Fund is already supporting the creation of 500 reasonably-priced apartments, with more on the way," said Governor Maura Healey. "Congratulations to Chrystal Kornegay and the entire MassHousing team on this well-deserved honor."
"The Momentum Fund is a powerful tool to accelerate housing production and to build more homes, faster," said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. "We are using every tool in our toolbox to end the state's housing shortage and we're grateful to the MassHousing team for their hard work to make this nation-leading program such a success."
"This award is a well-earned recognition of the hard work undertaken by the MassHousing team to put the Momentum Fund into operation only months after the Affordable Homes Act was signed into law," said Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus.
"At a time when housing affordability has become a critical concern for Americans, this year's awards program makes clear that state housing finance agencies are doing more than they ever have, with more creativity and commitment, to address the issue and its underlying causes. The Momentum Fund created by MassHousing and the Healey-Driscoll Administration is a prime example of that and something we hope to see replicated around the country," said NCSHA Executive Director Stockton Williams.
The Momentum Fund provides flexible, lower-cost equity financing to developers of mixed-income rental housing. Public equity financing and permanent mortgage funding from MassHousing work together to lower the cost of capital for new housing development, allowing projects to proceed to construction. By leveraging this new financing tool, more homes can be built faster and help provide much needed units for families, seniors and young adults. It is the largest state-led financing program of its kind in the United States.
Prior to the passage of the Healey-Driscoll Administration's Affordable Homes Act, Massachusetts lacked an effective tool for supporting the production of new market-oriented, mixed-income homes. The $50 million Momentum Fund, proposed by Governor Healey, allows public financing to partner with private capital, to build more homes, more quickly across Massachusetts.
The Momentum Fund offers developers of mixed-income housing an efficient and predictable source of stable equity financing. Momentum Equity is not a subsidy or a grant, but it is designed to be flexible compared with other equity available in the commercial market. Momentum Equity financing is designed to blend with privately financed equity and revolve over time, creating a permanent source for mixed-income housing growth.
Established in 1984, NCSHA's Annual Awards for Program Excellence identify and elevate industry best practices and encourage continued Housing Finance Agency innovation. Member HFAs are eligible to submit initiatives for consideration in seven categories: Advocacy, Communications, Homeownership, Management Innovation, Rental Housing, Special Achievement, and Special Needs Housing.
About MassHousing
MassHousing (The Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency) is an independent, quasi-public agency created in 1966 to confront the Commonwealth's housing challenges. The Agency raises capital by selling bonds and lends the proceeds to low- and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners, and to developers who build or preserve mixed-income rental housing. MassHousing does not use taxpayer dollars to sustain its operations. As a mission-driven agency, MassHousing uses housing finance to strengthen communities and lay the foundation for economic prosperity. Since its inception, MassHousing has provided more than $29 billion in housing finance. For more information, visit the MassHousing website at www.masshousing.com.
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