--- title: FHA Multifamily Loans Take 9 to 12 Months to Close. The Faster Fix Is Administrative. description: "A bipartisan caucus agenda and the FHA Commissioner hearing point at the same problem: how long FHA multifamily loans take to close." --- [DIA Dane Isaac Associates](https://dane-isaac.com/) [Services](https://dane-isaac.com/services) Sectors [Multifamily](https://dane-isaac.com/multifamily)[Affordable Housing](https://dane-isaac.com/affordable-housing)[Healthcare Real Estate](https://dane-isaac.com/healthcare-real-estate) [Track Record](https://dane-isaac.com/track-record) [Insights](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights) [About](https://dane-isaac.com/about) [Book a call](https://meetings-na2.hubspot.com/david-opalek) Menu [Services](https://dane-isaac.com/services) [Multifamily](https://dane-isaac.com/multifamily) [Affordable Housing](https://dane-isaac.com/affordable-housing) [Healthcare Real Estate](https://dane-isaac.com/healthcare-real-estate) [Track Record](https://dane-isaac.com/track-record) [Insights](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights) [About](https://dane-isaac.com/about)[Contact](https://dane-isaac.com/contact) [Book a call](https://meetings-na2.hubspot.com/david-opalek) [All articles](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights) # FHA Multifamily Loans Take 9 to 12 Months to Close. The Faster Fix Is Administrative. David Opalek October 7, 2026 2 minute read [Housing Policy](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights/tag/housing-policy)[Multifamily](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights/tag/multifamily)[Affordable Housing](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights/tag/affordable-housing) FHA multifamily mortgage insurance is one of the few sources of long-term, fixed-rate debt that covers both construction and the permanent loan. For affordable and workforce housing it is a core piece of the capital stack, alongside Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt bonds. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act raised FHA multifamily loan limits in July, so more projects can now use it. But FHA loans are slow to close. A policy agenda released this week by the bipartisan Build America Caucus states that FHA multifamily construction loans can take 9 to 12 months to close, compared with 2 to 3 months for conventional financing. Rep. Josh Harder, the caucus co-chair, told Multifamily Dive that FHA loans "can take a year to close." HousingWire reported in September that HUD staffing is near 5,800, down from 8,800 in fiscal 2024. Higher loan limits send more projects toward a pipeline that has fewer people to process them, and a sponsor carrying land and a rate lock for a year pays for that delay. The 40-member caucus, co-chaired by Harder (D-CA) and Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT), published the 95-page agenda on October 5. Its housing finance section calls for modernizing HUD systems and FHA underwriting, creating categorical exclusions for environmental review of infill housing, and standing up a federal revolving loan fund. It would also exempt affordable housing from Build America, Buy America requirements, which the document says can raise project costs by 15% to 25% in certain cases. On October 1, the Senate Banking Committee held its hearing on Matt Jones, nominated as Assistant Secretary for Housing and FHA Commissioner. Jones currently runs FHA's single-family side and pointed to more than 150 requirements cut from that program. HousingWire reported he said FHA could support affordable multifamily development by coordinating its insurance with other public funding, including LIHTC. LeadingAge reported that when Sen. Mike Crapo asked how he would support HUD's multifamily programs, Jones offered no specifics. A confirmation vote has not been scheduled. The caucus agenda is a framework with no bill text and no implementation date. The faster fix is administrative: HUD cut more than 150 single-family requirements without a new statute, and the same exercise applied to multifamily processing would shorten closings sooner than any proposal still waiting to be drafted. Developers and lenders with FHA executions in their 2027 pipelines should underwrite today's timeline and use the confirmation process to press for a published multifamily processing target. ### Sources - [HousingWire, October 5, 2026](https://www.housingwire.com/articles/lawmakers-float-a-housing-2-0-push-to-build-faster-and-cheaper/) - [Multifamily Dive, October 6, 2026](https://www.multifamilydive.com/news/bipartisan-housing-caucus-policy-proposal/832315/) - [HousingWire, October 1, 2026](https://www.housingwire.com/articles/fha-nominee-matt-jones/) - [LeadingAge, October 2, 2026](https://leadingage.org/fha-nomination-hearing-proceeds-despite-senate-recess/) **David Opalek** is the founder of Dane Isaac Associates, a real estate capital advisory firm in Columbus, Ohio. [Book a call](https://meetings-na2.hubspot.com/david-opalek) to discuss a transaction. ## More on Housing Policy - October 12, 2026 [Housing for the 21st Century Act: What It Really Changes for LIHTC Deals in 2026](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights/housing-for-the-21st-century-act-what-it-really-changes-for-lihtc-deals-in-2026) - October 12, 2026 [Opportunity Zones 2.0: Governors Redraw the Map by September 28](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights/opportunity-zones-2.0-governors-redraw-the-map-by-september-28) - October 12, 2026 [ROAD to Housing Act: Who the Institutional Investor Restrictions Actually Reach](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights/road-to-housing-act-who-the-institutional-investor-restrictions-actually-reach) ## Have a transaction that needs debt or equity? Talk it through with David directly. [Book a call](https://meetings-na2.hubspot.com/david-opalek) DIA Real Estate Capital Advisory - [Insights](https://dane-isaac.com/dane-isaac-insights) - [Services](https://dane-isaac.com/services) - [Track Record](https://dane-isaac.com/track-record) - [About](https://dane-isaac.com/about) - [Contact](https://dane-isaac.com/contact) - [Multifamily](https://dane-isaac.com/multifamily) - [Affordable Housing](https://dane-isaac.com/affordable-housing) - [Healthcare Real Estate](https://dane-isaac.com/healthcare-real-estate) - [info@dane-isaac.com](mailto:info@dane-isaac.com) - [(614) 778-9698](tel:+16147789698) - Columbus, Ohio - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgopalek/) © 2026 Dane Isaac Associates LLC ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Article", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Opalek" }, "datePublished" : "2026-10-07", "headline" : "FHA Multifamily Loans Take 9 to 12 Months to Close. 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