U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA-RD) Alaska State Director Jim Nordlund today announced that USDA-RD in coordination with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has published its Alaska Rural Homeownership Resource Guide (Guide). The Guide was released yesterday at a meeting to follow-up on Governor Walker’s Housing Summit held last year.
“In November 2015, a “Rural Homeownership Forum" was held in Anchorage. The purpose of the meeting was to brainstorm viable options for rural Alaskan residents who were seeking homeownership. Federal officials, rural leaders and administrators of housing programs were on hand to discuss and lend their expertise pertaining to the opportunities and challenges of mortgage financing in rural Alaska,” said Nordlund.
“The culmination of numerous discussions and considerations on the topic since that initial meeting in 2015, is the attached Guide. Participants in the Forum and contributors to the Guide include the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Association of Alaska Housing Authorities, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Rasmuson Foundation, as well as the Federal Reserve and USDA-RD,” added Nordlund.
The Guide provides resources and strategies intended for leaders in Alaska’s housing programs and those developers interested in making mortgage financing available to more residents in rural Alaska.
For more information, please contact Greg Stuckey, Director, USDA-RD Alaska Single Family Housing Programs at: (907) 761-7778, or greg.stuckey@ak.usda.gov.
From 2009 – 2016, USDA-RD Alaska, has invested $2.16 billion in 236 rural Alaskan communities. These investments include project funding for housing, community facilities, business, energy, sanitation, telecom and electric. This financial backing has helped to cultivate rural Alaska’s economy and enhance the quality of life for its rural residents.