HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has released the first semiannual report tracking spending and results from the state’s PHARE affordable-housing program, giving local officials, housing organizations and residents a more detailed view of how more than $450 million distributed since 2012 has been deployed across Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund, or PHARE, finances the creation and rehabilitation of affordable housing as well as related support services. Since its inception, the program has provided funding to nearly 2,300 housing initiatives, according to PHFA.
The new reporting system covers projects financed through the Realty Transfer Tax and Marcellus Shale Fund. PHFA plans to update the data semiannually as grantees submit new information.
For completed projects, the dataset provides final funding amounts and impact figures. For projects still underway, it reports current spending and results, allowing users to track both historical and active PHARE investments.
“This new semi-annual report is another step in providing deeper insight and access into one of the most important housing programs in Pennsylvania,” PHFA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Robin Wiessmann said. “We envision this information will assist local practitioners in examining the state of housing in their communities.”
The initial release consists of a data dictionary explaining the program and dataset and a PDF containing the Semi-Annual PHARE Progress and Impact Report. PHFA said it also plans to examine other formats that could make the information more accessible.
The agency identified local and state officials, community and housing development organizations, housing advocates and residents seeking information about investments in their communities as potential users of the data.
The report and additional information about PHARE are available at https://www.phfa.org/legislation/act105.aspx.
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