Housing initiative: Philadelphia spends 13% of first-phase budget

Philadelphia has spent a fraction of the funds allocated for its first major housing initiative, according to the city’s top fiscal watchdog.

As of September 30, the administration of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker had spent $38 million of the $278 million budgeted for the first phase of the Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E., program.

City Controller Christy Brady told reporters Tuesday that spending stood at just 13 percent of the target amount.

"We do want to see more spending because it is important. It is a great program," Brady said. "Affordable housing is what keeps our communities strong."

Council approved the initial funding legislation in January 2026. The city is legally obligated to spend the remaining $240 million by the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, 2027.

The program relies on $800 million in city bonds approved by Council in June 2025. The administration issued the first $400 million tranche of that debt in early 2026.

Parker first proposed the initiative in February 2025 with a goal of building or preserving 30,000 housing units during her first term.

The controller’s report found that only four of the 29 approved housing strategies had received spending. All four were existing programs that now receive additional support from the new initiative.

The Basic Systems Repair Program accounted for the largest share of that spending, receiving just under $26 million.

Chief Housing and Urban Development Officer Angela Brooks said in a statement that demand for home repairs and accessibility modifications remains strong.

"The four longstanding repair and eviction programs .. have already put more than half of their first-year budgets to work, nearly $38 million," Brooks said.

She noted that most of the funds went to emergency repairs and accessibility modifications for residents in North, West, and Southwest Philadelphia. Brooks said the remaining 25 projects, which have yet to see expenditures, will involve creating new programs rather than funding existing ones. The administration plans to launch the One Philly Mortgage later this year to assist first-time homebuyers earning up to 120 percent of the Area Median Income. Brooks explained that the budget is designed to pay for project milestones rather than follow a strict calendar. Any unspent funds will roll over to the next fiscal year. However, delays in spending bond proceeds erode the real value of the borrowed money due to inflation. This pattern of slow spending on debt-financed programs has occurred under previous administrations, including those of John F. Street, Jim Kenney, and Council President Darrell L. Clarke. The city’s Philly Stat 360 website currently lists 16,394 built or preserved units under the H.O.M.E. initiative. The administration did not respond to a request asking how many of those units are directly tied to the new program versus market-rate units built by private developers. Parker’s current goal counts both affordable and market-rate units, a shift from her 2023 campaign promise to create 30,000 units of affordable housing specifically.