The city has spent $38 million of $278 million in Parker's first housing budget, the controller says

The city has spent about $38 million of the $278 million budgeted for the first phase of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker's housing plan, according to a new report from City Controller Christy Brady. The figure is as of Sept. 30, the Inquirer reported Oct. 27.

The plan is called Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E. It pays for home repairs, eviction help, new affordable units and first-time buyer programs. How fast the money moves decides when those programs actually reach people.

What the controller found

According to the Inquirer's account of the report:

• Spending was roughly 13% of the first-phase budget.
• Only 4 of the 29 approved programs and strategies had spent money. All four were existing programs that got more funds.
• The Basic Systems Repair Program, an existing home-repair program, accounted for just under $26 million.
• The controller found no spending yet on the other 25, most of them new programs.
• The remaining $240 million has to be spent by June 30, 2027, under legislation Council approved in January. Unspent money carries into the next fiscal year.

Brady told the paper, "We do want to see more spending, because it is important."

What the administration says

Angela Brooks, the city's chief housing and urban development officer, told the Inquirer the programs reviewed are "on pace to use their full budgets and then some." She said project spending is tied to milestones, "not on a calendar," and that spending should speed up this fiscal year. The city's Philly Stat 360 site counts 16,394 units built or preserved toward the 30,000-unit goal. The administration did not tell the paper how many of those are directly tied to H.O.M.E. funding.

A mortgage program names its first lender

The same day, Parker said at an Axios Live event that Citizens Bank is the first lender signed on for the planned One Philly Mortgage, according to a summary of the event. The city hopes to launch it before the end of 2026, she said, and is talking with other lenders. Loans aren't available yet.

Parker described a 30-year loan with no private mortgage insurance that would be open to buyers "with less-than-perfect credit," Axios posted. The mayor's office posted that it would offer lower interest rates and accept credit scores as low as 620. The Inquirer reported that the program is aimed at first-time buyers earning up to 120% of area median income. Final terms haven't been published.

What our records add

H.O.M.E. runs on borrowing that Council approved, in two votes:

• June 12, 2025: Bill 250568, passed 16-0. It approved a service agreement with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to finance the plan through bonds. The bill lists housing production and preservation, home affordability, homeowner and renter help, and blight reduction among its uses. Sponsors were Johnson and at-large Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson. Bill page · meeting.
• Jan. 22, 2026: Bill 251065, passed 17-0. It amended the 2025 ordinance. It was introduced Dec. 4, 2025, by Council President Kenyatta Johnson and Jamie Gauthier, and the mayor signed it the day it passed. Bill page · meeting.

No member voted no on either bill. Our meetings calendar does not list a Council hearing on H.O.M.E. spending.

What's next

• The 25 programs that haven't started include the One Philly Mortgage. The Inquirer reported it's expected later this year.
• The second bond sale. The plan counts on two $400 million issues. The first came in early 2026, the Inquirer reported.
• Budget season. Council will set H.O.M.E.'s next-year spending in the spring budget. The controller's numbers will likely come up at those hearings.

Tenants in West and Southwest Philadelphia are asking City Hall for $36 million in H.O.M.E.-era money to keep about 925 homes affordable. Our story on that request.