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Urge Lawmakers to Protect Affordable Housing


NAHMA, along with its partners at the ACTION Campaign, is asking its members to urge Congress to strengthen and expand the housing credit, preserve the tax exemption on multifamily housing bonds and offset the impact of a lower corporate tax rate on LIHTC investment. A Grassroots Alert on nahma.org contains talking points, fact sheets and sample letters members can send to their congressional representatives. Members can also schedule in-district meetings and site visits with congressional staffers to illustrate the importance of preserving and fully funding affordable multifamily housing. For more on what you can do, click on the Web Link provided.
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Industry Trends


"America’s Affordable-Housing Stock Dropped by 60 Percent From 2010 to 2016"

Tax Issues and Tax Reform


"Senate Tax Reform Bill Would Reduce Affordable Rental Housing Production by Nearly 300,000 Homes"
"Housing Advocates Rally Against House Tax Reform Provision"

State and Local Activities


"Lawmakers Examine Current State of Florida's Affordable Housing Fund"
"Tax Proposals Threaten Lower-Income Housing in California"

Green Building


"Green Building Takes Hold for Single- and Multifamily Markets"
"The Ebenezer Square Case Study"

Association News


Digital Badges for SHCM Available
‘REWIND’ NAA Educational Sessions
Earn your SHCM Certification Entirely Online Anytime
Own Multifamily Housing: The Essential Industry Text
NAHMA Releases 2017 Affordable 100 List
Become a Specialist in Housing Credit Management® (SHCM®) Company!
Upcoming Events


Industry Trends


America’s Affordable-Housing Stock Dropped by 60 Percent From 2010 to 2016
Washington Post (10/23/17) Jan, Tracy

Freddie Mac reports that the number of apartments considered affordable for very low-income families across the U.S. fell by 60 percent between 2010 and 2016. The report analyzed loans that the company financed twice between 2010 and 2016. They found that at the first financing 11 percent of about 100,000 rental units across the country were affordable for low-income families. At the second financing, the rents increased to the point that only 4 percent of the same units were considered affordable. David Brickman, executive vice president and head of Freddie Mac Multifamily, says, "We have a rapidly diminishing supply of affordable housing, with rent growth outstripping income growth in most major metro areas. This doesn’t just reflect a change in the housing stock."
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Tax Issues and Tax Reform


Senate Tax Reform Bill Would Reduce Affordable Rental Housing Production by Nearly 300,000 Homes
Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits (11/17) Novogradac, Michael

An analysis by Novogradac & Company estimates that the proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) would reduce the future supply of affordable rental housing by nearly 300,000 homes over 10 years. The analysis found that lowering the corporate tax rate to 20 percent would reduce low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity by about 15 percent, translating to $1.8 billion or more in lost equity annually and the loss of 195,900 to 217,200 affordable rental home over 10 years. The current draft of the Senate tax reform legislation also reduces the depreciation cost recovery for residential rental and nonresidential real estate to 25 years, but only allows for that benefit if interest deductibility is limited to net interest expense. Interest deductibility limitations could be avoided if LIHTC properties elected the alternative depreciation system with a 40 year cost recovery period, which is 12.5 years longer than the current law depreciation cost recovery period for residential rental real estate. These changes to the depreciation/interest deductibility of LIHTC properties are estimated to result in the loss of 52,000 to 56,000 affordable rental homes, or more, over 10 years. The Senate's proposed legislation would also change the inflation adjustments throughout tax code from a factor based on the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) to one based on a "chained" CPI-U, potentially causing 18,700 to 19,900 affordable rental homes, or more, to be lost over 10 years. The Senate bill is more favorable than the House bill, however, because it preserves private activity bonds.
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Housing Advocates Rally Against House Tax Reform Provision
Politico Pro (11/03/17) Woellert, Lorraine

Builders, local governments, and other housing advocates are rallying against a provision of the House Republican tax plan that would eliminate a key funding source for affordable rentals.
The tax proposal would do away with private activity bonds, a growing source of financing for low-cost housing. The bonds are issued by local or state governments and are designed to attract private capital to fund large projects. They have evolved into a common financing mechanism for housing as the supply of low-income housing tax credits has been outpaced by the need for low-cost rentals. The ACTION Campaign, a coalition of 2,100 housing groups, municipal agencies, builders and others, will push for changes in the Senate bill. "We have a demonstrated housing crisis — we've got 11 million or 12 million people paying more than half their income in rent, we have a family being evicted every 11 seconds," said Bob Moss, director of governmental affairs at accounting firm CohnReznick. "I feel like we can fight our way back once people know the facts." The National Low Income Housing Coalition praised another provision of the House plan — a cut to the mortgage-interest deduction, a tax benefit that flows disproportionately to wealthier homeowners — but condemned lawmakers for not using the savings to aid low-income households.
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State and Local Activities


Lawmakers Examine Current State of Florida's Affordable Housing Fund
WTVY-TV (11/08/17) Kinsey, Troy

The Florida Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development on November 8 examined whether the state's affordable housing programs are being adequately funded in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which prompted tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans to stream into the state. Thousands of Puerto Rican evacuees are in search of housing, and are turning to the state for help. Florida's affordable housing trust fund is the state's primary vehicle for subsidizing homes and apartments for low-income renters in need. Over the past decade, however, state leaders have diverted more than $1 billion from the fund to pay for other priorities. That has left the fund with a declining balance. Some lawmakers are suggesting using money from the state's reserve account to replenish the affordable housing trust fund, calling the situation a qualifying emergency. "We'll have to make it be enough, and if not, we'll have to figure out how we may have to use some other funds to put in the pot to make it work," said Sen. Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville). "We have to make it work. We cannot add to the homeless population." But with the state almost certainly facing a deficit due to impacts from Hurricane Irma, much of the reserve funding could itself be diverted to other areas of the budget.
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Tax Proposals Threaten Lower-Income Housing in California
New York Times (11/13/17) Dougherty, Conor; Bailey, Jason

The Republican tax bill making its way through Congress will hit California taxpayers harder than much of the country. It is also considered very likely to make the state’s housing crisis worse, particularly for lower-income residents. Among the many threatened tax incentives are provisions that fund affordable housing. A slowdown in affordable housing construction would be particularly brutal for the state, which has a large homeless problem and a $500,000 median home price that is more than twice the national level. To build units for lower-income residents, nonprofit developers use a mix of bonds and tax credits that offset the cost of construction and allow them to offer lower rents for tenants. A little more than half of subsidized developments are financed with tax-free private activity bonds. They also get money from tax credits that developers transfer to corporations, which then use the credits to lower their taxes. The House version of the bill eliminates private activity bonds, which would reduce the supply of new affordable housing by close to 1 million units, one-third of those in California, according to an analysis by Novogradac & Company. It also reduces the value of investing in low-income housing tax credits. The Senate version of the tax bill is less extreme: It leaves private activity bonds intact but reduces the value of low-income tax credits.
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Green Building


Green Building Takes Hold for Single- and Multifamily Markets
Proud Green Building (10/27/17)

Single- and multifamily markets' growing commitment to green building is driven by different factors, and has different degrees of implementation, according to new study by Dodge Data and Analytics. Thirty-three percent of single-family builders are building more than 60 percent of their homes green, with the availability and affordability of green products continuing to be a major growth driver. The study also found many who are not yet going green at this level still plan to do so, with 44 percent expecting to build more than 60 percent of their home projects green by 2022. A substantially larger population of small builders is committed green builders than large builders, but within five years nearly the same percentage of small and large builders intends to be dedicated green builders. Meanwhile, a dramatic shift in the number of multifamily builders doing more than 60 percent of their projects green is evident, with 36 percent doing so this year, up from 23 percent in 2014. Although customer demand is a crucial motivator for green building among multifamily builders, government or utility incentives and code, ordinance, and regulatory revisions also are key drivers. The expansion in renewable energy products has helped encourage more engagement with net-zero homes among single-family builders, and 44 percent of home builders expect to build such residences by 2019.
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The Ebenezer Square Case Study
Affordable Housing Finance (10/18/17) Moriarty, James

The Ebenezer Square Apartments complex in West Seneca, N.Y., was created from an abandoned patch of asphalt through the efforts of a local politician and the DePaul nonprofit. New York Assemblyman Michael Kearns convinced DePaul to choose the vacant lot as the site of the complex, which he believed would earn community endorsement. The project achieved LEED for Homes Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and every aspect of the project was managed with an integrated design approach. The complex was required to meet the energy-efficiency standards of Energy Star Homes as well as the USGBC's LEED for Homes program. Pursuing this program gave the team a framework within which to make decisions and document milestones. The complex's LEED rating stems from features that include reuse of a previously developed property, easy access to parks and public transit, low-maintenance native plantings and wildflowers instead of grass in certain sites, low-flow water fixtures, limited wood waste via panelized construction, and recycling of 65 percent of construction waste. "Since this project was finished and received LEED for Homes Platinum, it means something when I talk to other municipalities," says SWBR Architects Joe Gibbons. "Ebenezer is a linchpin for DePaul to show others that LEED for Homes can be done, and it makes a difference."
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Association News


Digital Badges for SHCM Available

The National Apartment Association (NAA) is offering digital badges for SHCM credential holders. The badges can be shared through social media, email, websites and your digital resume. Digital badges feature encoded metadata: the badge’s issuing organization, its expiration date, and the knowledge and skills it confirms. They also provide employers with immediate verification, all in one click. For more information on the digital badge program, click on the Web Link provide below.
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‘REWIND’ NAA Educational Sessions

Order 50-plus education sessions that were presented at the 2017 Education Conference & Exposition in Atlanta for $199. You may earn up to six continuing education credits toward your NAAEI credential renewal.
This year’s audio recordings include the following sessions:
  • Opening Doors: The Key to Understanding Permanent Supportive Housing presented by Michael D. Clark, HCCP, principal and owner, Alpha-Barnes Real Estate Services LLC; Tom Gallagher, principal, E&G Group; Jacquie Hoffman, MDiv, president NPH board of directors 2017, regional vice president of property operations, Mercy Housing; and Lori Trainer, CAM, CAPS, vice president, Southern Affordable Services Inc.
  • Dealings with HUD: Successfully Navigating Muddy Waters presented by Greg Brown, senior vice president of government affairs, NAA; John McDermott PLLC, general counsel, NAA; Jeanne McGlynn Delgado, vice president, government affairs, American Seniors Housing Association; and Lori Trainer, CAM, CAPS, vice president, Southern Affordable Services Inc.
  • Affordable Housing: Key Federal Legislative-Regulatory Issues to Keep You Up at Night presented by Kris Cook, CAE, executive director, National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA); and Larry Keys, director of government affairs, NAHMA.
Click on the Web Link for more information.
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Earn your SHCM Certification Entirely Online Anytime

Take advantage of this convenient, affordable way to prepare to earn the Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM) certification online. The self-paced course is now available on demand. The cost for the course, including the SHCM exam, is $549 for members and $599 for nonmembers. For more information or to enroll, click the Web Link provided below.
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Own Multifamily Housing: The Essential Industry Text

Multifamily Housing: The Essential Industry Text has been developed as a definitive reference and interactive guide aimed at expanding the knowledge of multifamily professionals and as a complement to “on-the-job” experience for investors, developers, owners, managers, consultants and suppliers. As college students consider the apartment industry as a viable career option or choose to earn degrees in property management or real estate, this text offers a single source with best practices, uniform guidelines and standardized operational procedures, complete with a comprehensive glossary and industry terminology. Click on the Web Link below to purchase a copy.
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NAHMA Releases 2017 Affordable 100 List

The National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) announces its 2017 Affordable 100—a list of the 100 largest affordable multifamily property management companies ranked by affordable unit counts—is available on its website, click Web Link below, as well as in the June issues of NAHMA News, Affordable Housing Finance magazine and Units magazine. The NAHMA website version expands the list to the top 120 largest multifamily property management companies. In addition, the online version presents two specialty lists: the 25 largest housing credit (LIHTC) property management companies and the 25 largest Rural Development program property management companies.
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Become a Specialist in Housing Credit Management® (SHCM®) Company!

The three national associations sponsoring the Specialist in Housing Credit Management® (SHCM®) certification program invite your company to become a Specialist in Housing Credit Management® Company, a corporate designation created specifically to honor management companies that successfully maintain a significant portion of their properties and staff to the high standards of the SHCM certification program.
The SHCM program, developed especially for management companies involved with properties developed and operated under the Low-Income Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, is sponsored by the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA), the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI), and LeadingAge.
Earning the SHCM Company designation publicly demonstrates that a company is among the finest managers of LIHTC housing in the industry.
For more details on how to become a SHCM Company, click on the Web Link below.
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Upcoming Events

NAA Campus Connex
February 13-14, 2018
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NAHMA Winter Meeting
March 4-6, 2018
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NAA Advocate
March 13-16, 2018
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Leading Age PEAK Leadership Summit
March 18-21, 2018
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NAA Apartmentalize
June 13-16, 2018
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NAHMA Fall Meeting
October 21-23, 2018
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November 2017