NAAHL 2025 Impact Report
A Letter from Sarah
As we head into the holiday season, too many don’t know if they can afford to provide for their family, yet alone have safe and warm shelter. It is a humbling, troubling thought that there may be seniors without heat in their home, parents having to make tough decisions between paying the rent or purchasing their child a gift, or a veteran sleeping in a car through the month of December. This is what makes the work we do so important and why as I reflect back on 2025 and look ahead to the new year, I am filled with gratitude and urgency.
First and foremost, I’d like to thank NAAHL’s members, supporters, and partners, who make what we do possible.
Our members uniquely represent the public, private, and nonprofit partnerships that drive investments into affordable housing and community development across America – or to put it simply, help Americans have a place to call home.
Together, our members have lent and invested more than $75 billion into housing and community development each year nationwide.
We are deeply grateful for the generous support of our members and sponsors, as well as new funders who have leaned in to help us meet the moment in nimble, strategic, and collaborative ways. And it is with our partners that we collectively defended essential federal housing programs and advanced commonsense wins. From connecting in San Diego to Pittsburgh, to spending long days on the Hill or Saturday mornings on coalition calls, from the steady pace of building a movement to the fire drills that unexpectedly spill into holidays – it is a privilege to work with the dedicated network of partners that we do.
2025 kicked off a new political chapter and with it, new challenges and opportunities. To meet the moment, we expanded our policy priorities, revived the Center for Affordable Housing Lending to produce new resources, doubled down on our advocacy to advance bipartisan solutions, built new and stronger coalitions, and grew our powerhouse team. Throughout our work, we remain deeply disciplined to being rapidly responsive, to educating and engaging new policymakers across the federal government, and to building more and more common ground so that we can advance housing supply and affordability as the nonpartisan priority we know it to be.
It was a dizzying year but it paid off and I truly believe we are ending the year stronger than we started. More Members of Congress are elevating affordable housing on behalf of their constituents, defending CDFIs, advancing bipartisan housing proposals, and prioritizing key housing and community development tax solutions. Across the government, there is a recognition that housing supply and affordability is a top priority for renters and homeowners in cities, suburbs, and rural and Tribal communities nationwide.
Beneath a lot of chaos and disruptions, there is momentum. And while a lot of work lies ahead, 2025 has proven we were made for this moment. I am excited for our 2026 plans and the new and innovative ways we will work together. So as we head into the new year, we will continue to stay grounded in the communities we serve and carry this sense of urgency to unlock more affordable housing and economic opportunity and prosperity for all – through policy, through practice, and above all, through our partnerships with you.
Thank you and Happy Holidays,
Sarah Brundage, NAAHL President & CEO
NAAHL’s Big Five in 2025
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CRA is central to NAAHL members’ affordable housing and community development work, and ensuring its stability was a major focus of our 2025 advocacy. We supported reinstating the 1995 CRA regulation to provide the regulatory certainty banks and communities need, while urging regulators to issue interagency guidance, tools, and clarity that reduce burden and support timely, impactful investments. NAAHL will continue working closely with the regulators and policymakers to ensure CRA remains a clear, consistent, and effective driver of economic opportunity nationwide.
Learn more:
March 28, 2025: NAAHL Statement on the Importance of a Stable CRA to Drive Investments in Affordable Housing and Local Economies
August 19, 2025: NAAHL Submits Community Reinvestment Act Comment Letter on Joint Reinstatement of 1995 Rule
October 30, 2025: NAAHL Calls for Consistency and Alignment in Regulatory Comments on the Community Reinvestment Act
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Representing the leading investors and lenders in affordable housing and community development, NAAHL elevated the essential partnership between banks and CDFIs throughout 2025. NAAHL worked to deepen policymakers’ and stakeholders’ understanding of the essential role CDFIs play in expanding access to affordable capital in underserved communities. Through congressional outreach, coalition engagement, and targeted advocacy, we highlighted how CDFIs support housing, small businesses, and community facilities that strengthen local economies - and helped unlock new levels of bipartisan support for the CDFI Fund. In 2026, we look forward to continuing work with Congress, the Treasury Department, and the Administration to ensure the CDFI Fund and its affiliated programs remain fully supported and positioned to serve communities throughout the country.
Learn more:
March 14, 2025: Statement from NAAHL on March 14 Executive Order Aiming to Reduce Scope of CDFI Fund
October 21, 2025: Banks Strongly Support the CDFI Fund as Essential to Boosting Housing Supply and Economic Opportunity
October 24, 2025: NAAHL Applauds More than 100 Members of Congress Reaffirming Support for CDFI Fund
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In 2025, NAAHL underscored the urgent need for a strong and reliable federal partner to keep affordable housing production and preservation moving across the country. Through reports, policy briefs, and direct engagement with policymakers, we highlighted how consistent, on-time federal funding – and fully staffed HUD and USDA programs – are essential to maintaining investor confidence and sustaining the pipeline of new and preserved homes. NAAHL celebrated the permanent expansion and strengthening of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and other community development tax credits, and advocated fiercely for the Senate-passed, bipartisan ROAD to Housing bill, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, and the key provisions that would unlock greater housing supply. NAAHL will continue urging Congress and the Administration to both protect and prioritize core functions so communities can meet growing housing needs, as well as push Congress to enact a robust housing supply package.
Learn more:
March 10, 2025: NAAHL Special Report: The Real Cost of Cuts to HUD, USDA, and Treasury
April 7, 2025: Fact Sheet: Growing Number of States Boosting Affordable Housing Supply through HUD Risk-Sharing
May 8, 2025: Fact Sheet: How the 2025 Tax Bill Can Boost Housing Supply
July 3, 2025: Fact Sheet: Key Housing Provisions in the Reconciliation Bill
July 3, 2025: NAAHL Statement on Reconciliation Bill that Strengthens and Expands LIHTC, Changes Tax Incentive Landscape
July 25, 2025: NAAHL Applauds Senate Banking Committee Bipartisan Housing and Community Development Package
July 29, 2025: Senate Banking Committee Unanimously Passes Landmark Housing Bill
August 5, 2025: NAAHL Statement on Expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Ability to Invest in Affordable Housing
October 1, 2025: Government Shutdown: What it Means for Affordable Housing and Community Development
October 9, 2025: NAAHL Applauds Senate Passage of Critical Housing and Community Development Provisions in NDAA
October 20, 2025: Policy Brief: Essential Funding for Essential Housing
December 17, 2025: House Financial Services Committee Votes on Bipartisan Housing Package
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A growing number of Congressional and policy leaders on both sides of the aisle had a clear message in 2025: Americans need more affordable homeownership opportunities and the bipartisan Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (NHIA) is a key solution. As a leading convener of the Neighborhood Homes Coalition, NAAHL elevated NHIA as a bipartisan solution to expand affordable homeownership supply and revitalize neighborhoods throughout the country. The Neighborhood Homes Coalition has grown into a strong, robust coalition representing all corners of the industry and advocates, working together to advance the most popular, bipartisan, bicameral solution exclusively focused on affordable homeownership supply. NAAHL applauds congressional champions for advancing this legislation and will continue working to ensure communities nationwide benefit from the starter homes NHIA is designed to unlock.
Learn more:
April 10, 2025: NAAHL Applauds the House Reintroduction of Bipartisan Bills to Boost Housing Supply for Renters and Homeowners: AHCIA and NHIA
April 29, 2025: Washington Post op-ed: “Unlocking Homeownership: A Bipartisan Approach to Building Affordable Housing”
July 29, 2025: Homeownership is out of reach for too many. Congress can change that.
November 12, 2025: ICYMI: Industry Leaders Highlight the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, Homeownership Supply Legislation at NAAHL/CAHL 2025 Policy and Practice Conference
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In 2025, NAAHL became the new convener of the Underserved Mortgage Markets Coalition, strengthening a nationwide effort to expand access to affordable and sustainable homeownership and housing opportunities through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We launched a refreshed UMMC website to elevate shared research, tools, and priorities, and to highlight the work of members driving progress in rural housing, manufactured housing, and preservation. We concluded our first year with UMMC with an in-person convening to bring coalition members together to advance strategies that ensure the Enterprises reach all communities they are required to serve.
Learn more:
June 23, 2025: Stewardship of Nonpartisan Housing Finance Coalition to Transition to National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders
September 16, 2025: Enterprise and Housing Finance System Imperatives
October 3, 2025: UMMC Statement on Proposal to Reduce Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Affordable Homeownership Goals
November 7, 2025: UMMC Members Submit Comment on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Housing Goals
2025 By The Numbers
In 2025, NAAHL communicated with more stakeholders than ever.
40
Speaking engagements with national, state, and local housing practitioners, policymakers, and partners
100
NAAHL rapid policy updates exclusively for NAAHL members
29
Press releases and statements
27
Letters to Congressional Leadership or the Administration on topics including advancing bipartisan housing legislation, ensuring stability with the Community Reinvestment Act, the vital role of the CDFI Fund, and critical housing and community development funding.
5
NAAHL/CAHL reports, policy briefs, fact sheets
198
Editions of “Daily Download” housing news clips
NAAHL led with policy at a moment when housing affordability and community lending are central national challenges.
45
Member convenings
17
Legislative proposals benefited from NAAHL’s technical assistance or policy feedback
60
Formal Hill meetings with key committees and offices advancing housing solutions
7
Official meetings with the Administration on housing and other policy priorities
NAAHL expanded its membership, strengthening a national network of lenders committed to affordable housing and community development.
13%
Membership growth
271
Registrants attended NAAHL’s sold-out conference – the largest one to date – leading lenders, policy organizations, and government offices
We Brought Members & Partners Together
in 2025
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