Nuveen said now is a good time to consider buying municipal housing bonds because of concerns around housing affordability. Bonds, the proceeds of which are exempt from federal taxes, are used to fund affordable housing development projects. Additionally, investors do not have to pay state taxes if they live in the same state where the bond was issued. Dan Close, Nuveen’s chief investment officer and head of municipal fixed income, said the need for affordable housing has led to increased issuance, meaning investors can earn some additional yield. “Affordability has become a defining issue across the United States, shaping political debates and influencing election outcomes,” he wrote in a recent paper. The K-shape Many lower- and middle-income Americans are struggling in the so-called K-shape economy, while higher-income households are doing well. Moreover, mortgage rates continue to rise as the spring housing market gets into full swing. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 6.53% on Friday, the highest level since September 2025, according to Mortgage News Daily. More housing bonds will come to market as builders address ongoing affordability issues. In fact, annual issuance tripled between 2016 and 2025. Bonds currently account for about 7% of the city’s $4.4 trillion market. Mr Close expects growth to continue given that the majority of consumer spending is on housing. “Given this increase in the amount of housing bonds in the market, we think there’s a lot of opportunity to really leverage the credit reporting team and get about 60 basis points more in the 10-year portion of the curve right now compared to other (municipal) bonds in the market,” he said in an interview with CNBC. Currently, the average yield on housing bonds with a maturity of 10 years is 3.58%, compared to the broader local market average yield of 3.06%. Spotting Opportunities There are many different types of housing bonds, including single-family homes, multi-family homes and workforce housing, Close said. These days, Close prefers to take a barbell approach that incorporates both single families and the workforce. Single-family bonds are highly valued because they are issued by state agencies to assist first-time homeowners. “We’re seeing quite a bit of issuance, and that’s making the market cheap,” Close said. “You can compare spreads with (general obligation bonds from) the issuing country. For example, the Nuveen National Municipal Bond Fund holds single-family home bonds, including those from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. FLAAX YTD Mt. On the other side of the Nuveen National Municipal Bond Fund’s year-to-date barbell is workforce housing, a relatively new loan type aimed at essential workers such as teachers, nurses, police officers and firefighters, who have more money to buy affordable housing. However, because it is difficult to buy market rate homes in expensive areas, these are classified as high-yield areas and therefore carry more risk. “These are individual projects, and these are the ones where we think we can earn the most additional yield at this point.” Investors can earn not only attractive incomes but also social benefits by investing in housing bonds, Mr. Close said. “Municipal tax-exempt status gives these agencies, organizations and private developers access to cheaper capital, creating meaningful savings at a lower cost than traditional taxable financing, and those savings are passed on to both renters and homebuyers.”
