Uncertainty and confusion have taken hold in the multifamily financing landscape regarding federal programs, according to Keely Downs, a partner and HUD specialist at Frost Brown Todd. Speaking with GlobeSt.com, Downs highlighted the challenges developers and financiers face in navigating these shifting dynamics.
One example is the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP), which was authorized and funded through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The program was terminated on March 12, 2025. A visit to the program’s archived webpage reveals its ambitious scope: “GRRP is the first HUD program to simultaneously invest in energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, energy generation, green and healthy housing, and climate resilience strategies specifically in HUD-assisted multifamily housing.”
With $1.4 billion allocated to these efforts, the program promised significant advancements in sustainable housing. However, that same URL now redirects users to a generic welcome page, leaving stakeholders questioning its fate.
Despite this apparent termination, the Department of Housing and Urban Development stated in late March that GRRP had not been canceled but was under evaluation. This ambiguity has left developers in limbo. Lauren Zullo, managing director of impact for Jonathan Rose Companies, expressed her concerns to Bloomberg, saying, “Without these commitments that have already been made by the federal government, these projects won’t be able to proceed at all.”
The uncertainty surrounding GRRP is emblematic of broader instability in the financing market. Downs elaborated on this point to GlobeSt.com, noting that “right now in the marketplace, and that includes all kinds of financing, there’s a fair amount of uncertainty out there as to what the future looks like, a little more than normal.” She pointed out that the administration has sent mixed signals about its intentions for GRRP. “They want to get rid of the program,” she said. “They will not be honoring the written permission letters they wrote to people.” This has created significant challenges for underwriting processes that relied on GRRP grants or loans. Without this funding, many projects risk stalling or becoming unfeasible.
The potential loss of GRRP funding could have far-reaching consequences for developers and federal agencies. “I think the agencies will lose out on the ability to do those deals,” Downs explained. The absence of GRRP grants or loans would increase overall financing costs and prevent critical retrofits to improve energy efficiency and implement green energy upgrades. “All the energy efficiency and green energy upgrades—that just won’t happen,” she said.
Rumors of staffing cuts at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac add to these concerns. Downs warned that such cuts could exacerbate delays or create bottlenecks within HUD’s processes. “If you do see more drastic cuts to the agencies or start seeing delays or increases to the queues at HUD,” she said, “that will add uncertainty, and markets don’t like uncertainty.”
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