Project Overview

The Haiti Home Ownership and Mortgage Expansion (HOME) Program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), addressed gaps in both the demand and supply sides of the housing value chain in Haiti to create affordable housing. Through developing an incentive structure, including varied deployment of pay-for-results (PfR) principles, the program mobilized the Haitian financial sector and property developers to lead in expanding and improving the market for housing finance products and infrastructure. 

The program worked with implementing partners, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) and the Affordable Housing Institute (AHI), seeking to unlock liquidity in the Haitian banking sector to mitigate risk for participating financial institutions (PFIs) and developers, and enable low, moderate and middle-income Haitian households to gain access to affordable housing. The HOME Program challenged and assisted PFIs, developers, and low, moderate and middle-income households to identify, articulate and implement these solutions themselves—acting as a facilitator in the process—without creating artificial interference in the housing market.    

To ensure that housing developments meet high environmental standards, HOME collaborated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to enable partner developers to become EDGE certified. Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) is a green building certification system for new residential and commercial buildings, especially adapted to emerging markets. Under this partnership, HOME offered technical assistance on EDGE standards and provides environmental sustainability incentives to developers to cover the incremental costs of achieving the green building benchmark. 

This program was timely, given that the 2010 earthquake destroyed 180,000 homes adding to the existing housing shortage, creating a backlog of nearly 300,000 units. USAID in close collaboration with the Government of Haiti (GOH) identified a number of fundamental constraints in Haiti’s housing delivery system. Against a backdrop of extreme poverty, the Haiti HOME Program helped address some of these constraints through the innovative uses of capital that have the additional benefit of addressing gaps, disruptions, weaknesses, or inefficiencies in Haiti’s delivery of either affordable homes or affordable housing financing. 

Read more: An Introduction to Pay-for-Results in Development

Project Results

• HOME has leveraged USD 25.9 million of local private capital invested in activities such as owner-led housing microfinance products, developer-led housing infrastructure investments, and mortgage products in return for USD 2.9 million in incentives; a ratio of 9:1.

• HOME's three property developer partners initiated six affordable housing development projects with a total of 236 residential units planned. 57 housing units were built, of which 35 were sold during the project. While this falls short of the initial target of 250 units, that target was set during a much more stable macro-economic and political context in Haiti. Despite hyperinflation, insecurity, and the onset of COVID- 19, developer partners continued progressing on housing units throughout the program.

• In December 2020, HOME partner the Affordable Housing Institute (AHI) held a workshop for members of the newly formed Housing Developers’ Association, Association des Promoteurs Immobiliers d'Haiti (APIH). This workshop provided APIH members, including HOME partner housing developers, an overview of real estate development, project feasibility, and opportunities for advocacy in this new sector. In creating and supporting the Association, HOME formalized sustainable collaboration and growth of the affordable housing sector beyond the program.

• Through partnership with transaction advisor Delphin Investments, two of HOME’s partner housing developers successfully developed customized investment strategies. The developers received guidance and resources to raise investments and benefit beyond HOME’s duration.

• HOME produced a pay for results case study (see under Featured Stories) which captures the successes, results, and lessons learned from its innovative application of the pay for results model in the affordable housing sector.

Featured Stories

• 85 total credit unions
• 920,414 members
• US $163 million in assets