How Do LIHTC Properties Affect their Surroundings?

March 24, 2017      By: Mark Shelburne

A recent analysis of academic research contains valuable observations for housing practitioners. In “The What, Where, and When of Place-Based Housing Policy’s Neighborhood Effects,” Keri-Nicole Dillman, Keren Mertens Horn and Ann Verrilli reviewed 16 studies examining low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) properties’ impacts on property values, neighborhood demographics, crime and education. In other words, how do developments affect their surroundings? The answers are important for program administrators and other interested parties when designing policies.

The researchers begin by noting two overall objectives applied to LIHTCs: “strengthening distressed communities and increasing access to higher opportunity neighborhoods.” Both of these are informed by knowing what developments mean for property values, poverty rates or income composition, racial composition, crime and school quality...........Read More

Fannie and Freddie Report Strong Volume

By: Donna Kimura

The GSEs eye more preservation deals this year

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac posted big multifamily financing volumes in 2016, with a significant amount of business coming in affordable housing.

The activity is attributed to strong market conditions as well as product innovation from the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).

“The vast majority of the year we had continued low interest rates and high (low-income housing) tax credit (LIHTC) pricing,” says David Leopold, vice president of affordable housing production for multifamily at Freddie Mac. “The market dynamics were favorable for new transactions.”.........Read More

How Freddie Mac Provided $50M to a Borrower with Only $20K

Marck 24, 2017                 By: Erika Morphy

McLEAN, VA--Or, a story illustrating the essential role soft money is likely to play in the LIHTC world.

McLEAN, VA–Recently, Freddie Mac provided one of the few remaining affordable apartments left in Westchester County, NY with $50.5 million in rehab financing. The deal stands out for two reasons

1) the ownership partnership had $20,000 (yes, that is the right number of zeros) in capital and no capacity to take on additional liabilities; and

2) the property, the 454-unit Buena Vista apartments in Yonkers, NY, was built 42 years ago under a state program that financed low-income housing using tax abatements and low-interest bond funds. There were no low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC), in other words, that could be sold to raise additional equity.....Read More

Investment in Affordable Housing Has Ripple Effect

March 14, 2017         By: Josh Cohen

When Bluebonnet Studios opened in Austin last month, all 107 apartments filled quickly. There’s already a waitlist of over 900 low-income Austinites hoping for a spot in the rent-restricted development.

The story is similar for all 19 affordable housing buildings in the Austin portfolio of nonprofit Foundation Communities, which developed Bluebonnet. There simply aren’t enough units to meet demand. Alyah Khan, the organization’s communications coordinator, says its waitlists are, “the longest they’ve ever been for us. It’s hard to keep up with the need.”............Read More

LIHTC Program Now Funds About 90% of U.S. Affordable Housing Projects

March 16, 2017             By: Julie Littman, Bay Area, Bisnow

Trying to profit from developing affordable housing projects can be a challenge, but a growing government program is funding the creation of affordable housing stock.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program has been in effect for 31 years, and funds roughly 90% of the country's affordable housing projects.........Read More

Merritt Raises $58 Million in LIHTC Fund

March 15, 2017     By:  Affordable Housing Finance

The Fund will help finance five California developments with 482 homes.

Merritt Community Capital Corp. recently closed a $58 million low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) fund that will help finance five developments with 482 units.

In Merritt’s Fund XIX, there are four acquisition-rehab properties in Northern California and one new construction in Southern California......Read More

IRS Provides Guidance on Qualified Allocation Plans

March 3, 2017    Published by:  Mark Shelburne

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Ruling 2016-29 and Notice 2016-77 Dec. 12, 2016. The two have important similarities in addition to being released at the same time, as well as a few noteworthy differences.

Background

The ruling and notice are rare instances of the federal government providing direction to allocating agencies on how to distribute low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs). Rules for states are generally contained in their qualified allocation plan (QAP) and related documents. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 42 contains a few requirements for QAPs, but they are broadly worded, as is common with statutes. The interpretation of specifics is mostly left to departments.......Read More

New Report Shows Massive Shortage of Affordable and Available Housing for Lowest Income Households in Illinois

Mar 2, 2017  |   Advocacy Updates, Press Releases

CHICAGO – The GAP: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, a new report co-released released today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and Housing Action Illinois, finds a shortage of 324,178 affordable and available rental homes in Illinois for extremely low income (ELI) renter households, those with incomes at or below 30% of their area median income or the poverty guideline. The report calls for a rebalancing of federal housing expenditures to serve households with the greatest needs. Nationally, there is shortage of 7.4 million affordable and available rental homes for ELI households.

The study finds there are just 32 affordable and available units for every 100 ELI renter households in Illinois and that 74% of those households are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on housing......Read More

Wells Fargo Ranked No. 1 Affordable Housing Investor in the U.S.

Bank’s financing efforts helped create more than 180,000 units of affordable housing nationwide

March 01, 2017 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) has been named the largest investor in affordable multifamily housing in the U.S., according to research conducted by accounting firm, Cohn Reznick. With increasing demand for affordable rental options across the nation, Wells Fargo is helping to bridge the affordability gap as the number one investor in Low Income Housing Tax Credits for affordable multifamily housing in the U.S., with $9 billion in investments over the last five years..........Read More

THE GAP

A Shortage of Affordable Homes -  March 2017

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