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ATTENDING THE NAA EDUCATION CONFERENCE AND WANT TO BRING BACK THE BEST OF BOSTON?
CAN’T MAKE IT TO BOSTON BUT DON’T WANT TO MISS THE HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION SESSIONS?
2012 NAA EDUCATION CONFERENCE SESSIONS
• 20 VIDEO RECORDED SESSIONS NEW
• 18 AUDIO-SYNCED, POWERPOINT SESSIONS (INCLUDES 4 NAHMA SESSIONS)
ALL FOR ONLY $99.99, IF PURCHASED BY JUNE 15, or:
June 16 – June 27 $149.99
June 28 – June 30 $199.99
July 1 – March 31, 2013 $299.99
Follow the link below to see which sessions will be recorded:
http://naa.directionsav.com/media/NAA%202012%20Education%20Sessions.pdf.
Click on the link below to order.
Headlines
Association News
INTERESTED IN EARNING THE CREDENTIAL FOR GREEN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ONLINE?
INVITE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO PREPARE TO EARN THEIR SHCM CERTIFICATION ONLINE AND AT THEIR OWN PACE!
INVEST IN YOUR MAINTENANCE TEAM AND SEE AN IMPROVEMENT IN OVERALL PERFORMANCE!
NAHMA Offers Green Housing Management Publication
Industry News
"Mixed Blessings"
"Mixed Income, Mixed Results: The One-for-One Debate"
"How a Real Estate Entity Qualifies as a QALICB Under the Targeted Populations Rules"
"Life After RDAs"
"Lender Training Begins for HUD's Multifamily LIHTC Pilot"
"Separation Anxiety"
"Sen. Snowe's Departure Hits LIHTC Industry"
"Tax-Exempt Bonds, 4 Percent LIHTCs Show Signs of Life"
"Six Real Estate Megatrends for 2012 and Beyond"
"Urban Invasion"
"Making Mixed-Income Housing Work"
"Rental Demand Fuels US Property Market"
"Q&A: ITC Investments - Comparing Solar ITCs to Historic ITCs"
"A Piece of the Action"
"California LIHTC Update"
"Goals Unmet for Affordable Housing Tax Credit Program in Texas"
"Swelling Seniors Population Faces Housing Challenges"
"Study Shows Economic Benefits of LIHTC Developments in New Hampshire"
"EcoMOD Project Expanding Efforts to Build Energy Efficient Affordable Housing"
Association News
INTERESTED IN EARNING THE CREDENTIAL FOR GREEN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT ONLINE?
The Credential for Green Property Management (CGPM) course provides management companies and owners a mechanism for meeting their training commitments to OAHP (Office of Affordable Preservation). You can now earn the required 16 hours of GREEN training in one online program.
In the CGPM Course, you’ll learn how to:
* Save between 5%–20% on energy bills
* Reduce costs for operations and maintenance
* Reduce waste, pollution, and environmental degradation
* Extend equipment life
* Protect occupant health and employee productivity
* Improve indoor air quality
* Implement a green operation and maintenance plan
* Implement a tenant green education program
* Increase cash flow and asset value
The 9-module course curriculum covers:
* Water Efficiency
* Integrated Pest Management
* Indoor Environmental Quality
* Green Operations And Maintenance
* Green Site Landscaping
* Green Building Systems
* Alternative Energy Sources
* Energy Star And Watersense Programs
* Recycling And Waste Reduction
* Green Education for Residents
Participants completing the course can earn the Credential for Green Property Management offered by the National Apartment Association Education Institute and the National Affordable Housing Management Association. The course fulfills the initial green training requirement of HUD’s Office of Affordable Preservation (OAHP).
Cost: $445.00
To register, click on the link below.
INVITE YOUR COLLEAGUES TO PREPARE TO EARN THEIR SHCM CERTIFICATION ONLINE AND AT THEIR OWN PACE!
The Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM) Certification can be earned entirely online. Webinar content is based on the National Affordable Housing Management Association’s (NAHMA) “Practical Guide to Tax Credit Housing Management” workbook. Attendees will receive course materials in .pdf format.
This is a Four-Part Recorded Webinar Series. If your colleagues would prefer a Live Webinar Series, NAHMA and NAAEI will offer one in the FALL of 2012.
Why earn the SHCM Certification? Affordable housing management professionals can demonstrate that they have mastered the complex requirements of the LIHTC program and take advantage of this convenient affordable way to prepare to earn the SHCM Certification.
The schedule and topics for this series are as follows:
* Part 1: Program Regulations with Instructor Gianna Solari
* Part 2: Applicant Eligibility with Instructor Greg Proctor
* Part 3: Unit Eligibility with Instructor Sue Streck
* Part 4: Monitoring and Compliance with Instructor Sue Streck
Cost: $599 for the full course and $99 per module.
The full-course cost includes the fee for the SHCM Certification Application. Candidates will be able to earn the SHCM Certification upon completion of this series and after passing the online exam.
To register, click on the link below
INVEST IN YOUR MAINTENANCE TEAM AND SEE AN IMPROVEMENT IN OVERALL PERFORMANCE!
We asked supervisors, who sent their maintenance technicians to NAAEI’s ANSI accredited Certificate for Apartment Maintenance Technicians (CAMT) course, to share the performance improvements they noticed upon completion of the CAMT course.
83% - note an improvement in employee morale and confidence
67% - report better management of preventive maintenance programs
58% - see an improvement in the diagnosis of maintenance issues
58% - report more cost-effective repair/replace decisions
53% - note an improvement in overall work performance
To learn more about CAMT and why a number of affordable housing providers are offering CAMT training to their entire staff of maintenance professionals, go to the following webpage: http://www.naahq.org/education/designationprograms/CAMT/Pages/default.aspx.
To find a CAMT course near you, click on the link below.
NAHMA Offers Green Housing Management Publication
A new publication, Green Housing: A Practical Guide to Green Real Estate Management, is now available from the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA). The 82-page spiral-bound book is an informative yet easy-to-read primer on green real estate management, and covers all of the basic concepts, such as energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, resource efficiency, site sustainability, water efficiency, integrated pest management, tenant green education, and creating a green operation and maintenance plan.
According to a recent report by the U.S. General Services Administration, green buildings have 13% lower maintenance costs and consume 26% less energy. Though there is a common perception that “going green” can be cost-prohibitive, property management professionals and building owners and developers are discovering that greening their properties is not only cost-effective but can be truly profitable. Green Housing, by real estate professional and certified green-building expert Barry P. Weaver, is a timely manual for those who have the desire but not a great deal of capital to accomplish green upgrades.
The book may be purchased for $35 per copy, plus $5 shipping and handling, via NAHMA’s webstore via the link below.
Industry News
Mixed Blessings
Apartment Finance Today (06/12) Ascierto, Jerry
Many market-rate developers are venturing into the mixed-income housing arena after being unable to secure capital for conventional construction deals. Martin Building Co., for example, applied for tax-exempt bond financing accompanied with low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs). "Within 60 days, I had a loan approval from Citibank, which felt miraculous," says Patrick McNerney, owner of the company. "And the reason they moved so swiftly was because it was now a tax-credit project, and the bank wanted Community Reinvestment Act [CRA] credits." Similarly, the McGregor Cos. recently broke ground on a $160 million, 438-unit mixed-use development in Los Angeles only after receiving funds through the New Issue Bond Program. The bonds were credit-enhanced through an $86.2 million FHA-backed loan and LIHTCs, which supplied approximately $8 million in equity after being purchased by Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. The use of tax-exempt bonds typically requires developers to allocate 20 percent of the units for people earning up to 50 percent of the area median income, while the other 80 percent remain market rate (dubbed an "80/20" deal).
Mixed Income, Mixed Results: The One-for-One Debate
Apartment Finance Today (05/12) Ascierto, Jerry
Congress has begun to emphasize one-for-one replacement for mixed-income development, after repealing the policy in 1998. When HUD launched the HOPE VI program in 1992 in an effort to correct the concentrations of poverty in towering public housing development, its focus was on mixing incomes and reducing density. Public housing units were demolished to make way for mixed-income communities, but only a fraction of the units were replaced. Most public housing residents lost their housing, says Linda Couch, senior vice president for policy and research for the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which estimates a loss of more than 100,000 affordable housing units. The early HOPE VI developments lacked a focus on relocation services, according to critics, and a new study from the Urban Institute and Emory University reveals crime rates rose in neighborhoods with a concentration of relocated families. Last year, HUD awarded five grants totaling $122 million for HOPE VI's successor, the Choice Neighborhoods program, and the communities committed to one-for-one replacement. While there are other strategies, such as scattered site development, funds are not available, and the effect on public housing residents remains a concern for advocates. "And I haven't convinced myself that it's not OK for poor people to live next to one another if they want to," says Couch.
How a Real Estate Entity Qualifies as a QALICB Under the Targeted Populations Rules
Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits (05/12) Vol. 3, No. 5, Clements, Gregory
A real estate entity can be deemed a qualified active low-income community business (QALICB) if it adheres to new markets tax credit (NMTC) targeted population regulations. Treasury Regulation Section 1.45D-1(d)(9)(i)(D) states that a QALICB must qualify for a location test and a gross income test. Under the location test, an entity that rents real property to others for low-income targeted populations and otherwise is a qualified business under Treasury Regulation Section 1.45D-1(d)(5) will be treated as located in a low-income community if at least 50 percent of its total gross income is derived from rentals to individuals who are low-income persons or rentals to QALICBs that meet the low-income targeted population requirements, namely through the sales, rentals, and services requirement or the employee requirement. Under the gross income test, if an entity's sole business is the rental to others of real estate and the entity meets the location test, the 40 percent gross income requirement under Treasury Regulation Section 1.45D-1(d)(9)(i)(B)(1)(i) is considered satisfied. This indicates that the income test is met if the location test is met, so all attention should be focused on the location test. If a real estate entity tries to fulfill the location test by rentals to individuals who are low-income persons, that rental will likely be residential. It is vital to note that no more than 80 percent of the entity's revenue can be derived from residential rentals in order to qualify as a QALICB.
Life After RDAs
Affordable Housing Finance (05/12) Kimura, Donna
Affordable housing projects in California will need to be restructured with new financing sources due to the elimination of local redevelopment agencies (RDAs), and some will likely die because of lost funds. The state is dissolving some 400 RDAs to help reduce its budget deficit. RDAs were required to set aside at least 20 percent of their revenues to create, rehabilitate, and preserve affordable housing, which generated about $1 billion each year, its largest pool of non-federal money available for affordable homes. In Santa Barbara, the $13.8 million Bradley Studios broke ground in January with $8.4 million in loans from its local RDA, which also helped the 54-unit development receive an allocation of low-income housing tax credits, providing another $5 million in funds through Red Stone Equity Partners. Many developers do not expect to see the restoration of the RDAs this year and have put their hopes in new legislation, S.B. 1220, which would establish a permanent funding source for affordable housing. The proposed Housing Opportunity and Market Stabilization Trust Fund, which would be funded by a $75 recording fee on each real estate document, could average about $700 million per year. California has just 21 affordable and available units for every 100 extremely low-income renters, according to a new study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition. "The best hope for California is that recently introduced legislation will pass that creates a permanent source for funding affordable housing, although that alone will not make up for the loss of RDA funding," says Caleb Roope, president and CEO of The Pacific Cos.
Lender Training Begins for HUD's Multifamily LIHTC Pilot
GlobeSt.com (05/04/12) Morphy, Erika
The 20 lenders selected in February to take part in the Multifamily Low Income Housing Tax Credit pilot began training on May 4. After the training session is complete, lenders will be eligible to start processing applications. A spokeswoman with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said any deals in these lenders' pipelines that fulfill the program's criteria will transfer to the pilot. The program was included in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and seeks to streamline FHA mortgage insurance applications for projects with equity from the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. HUD has also created a separate application form and processing track under the Section 223(f) program. One of the lenders in the program, CWCapital, has approximately $50 million worth of transactions it hopes to transfer. Other lenders participating in the pilot include P/R Mortgage & Investment Corp., Red Mortgage Capital, Prudential Huntoon Paige Associates, Draper and Kramer Commercial Mortgage Co., and Love Funding. Ellen Kantrowitz at CWCapital's FHA group says the pilot is unique because it comes with Section 223(f) mortgage insurance—which offers some of the best interest rates in the market and has accelerated deployment.
Separation Anxiety
Apartment Finance Today (06/12) Ascierto, Jerry
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), account for more than 60 percent of the total market for multifamily permanent debt. The figure has held steady for the past three years. Roughly a year ago, the Treasury Department released a white paper on GSE reform that examined the possibility of "winding down" the GSEs. The National Multi Housing Council, meanwhile, attempted to gain insight into the Treasury's intentions shortly after the paper was released. The GSEs' conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), issued its own proposals in February. These included requesting the GSEs to study the possibility of spinning out their multifamily divisions. As a result of the uncertainty over the GSEs, even larger entities have to search for alternative capital providers, such as life insurance companies and commercial banks. Life insurance companies issued approximately $11 billion in multifamily debt in 2011. Although there is not sufficient capital in the private sector to fully take the place of the GSEs, there is enough to displace them from certain deals. Industry stakeholders predict that the FHFA may call for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stay away from certain assets in the future.
Sen. Snowe's Departure Hits LIHTC Industry
Affordable Housing Finance (04/12) Kimura, Donna
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) recently announced she will not seek reelection this year. For many years, Snowe has been the strongest Republican backer of the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program. "She's been a strong voice for us on Senate Finance, the tax writing committee that's in charge of our program," says Bob Moss at Boston Capital. Moss says Snowe has been consistent and accessible, and her effect on the LIHTC industry cannot be attributed to a single event or bill. Moss notes that among the remaining LIHTC backers is Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), chair of the Ways and Means Committee, who has expressed support for the program. Barbara Thompson at the National Council of State Housing Agencies praises Snowe's steady work on behalf of the tax-exempt bond and LIHTC programs. Snowe co-sponsored S. 1989 at the end of 2011 to make permanent the 9 percent minimum credit rate and to establish a fixed rate for the 4 percent acquisition credit; the bill has not yet been passed. In 2003, Snowe was instrumental in requesting a much smaller tax cut than suggested by President Bush, which helped create a final tax package to safeguard the LIHTC program.
Tax-Exempt Bonds, 4 Percent LIHTCs Show Signs of Life
Apartment Finance Today (05/12) Ascierto, Jerry
The tax-exempt bond market is back in force, and more investors are looking for a viable alternative to the market for the 9 percent low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) as prices climb and yields drop. "The 4 percent market has made a resounding comeback, both in terms of credit underwriting and pricing," says Mark Dean, managing director for New York-based Citi Community Capital. Pricing has risen about 10 cents in the past year, with many 4 percent credits selling in the high-80 cent to mid-90 cent range for deals in major metropolitan markets. On the debt side, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) have been busy, and the private placement market has been heating up as well. New York-based Centerline Capital is on the market putting a private placement program together, and Phil Melton, who runs its affordable housing debt side, says, "We believe that's a market that's very available now, and will have a high level of appeal." Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to battle on the fixed-rate side of the credit enhancement market, but Freddie has distinct competitive advantages, such as the ability to provide floating-rate executions. The FHA is dedicating more resources to affordable housing transactions, and more LIHTC developers are turning to the agency.
Six Real Estate Megatrends for 2012 and Beyond
RealtyBizNews (05/01/2012) Robinson, Donna S.
In the coming months and years, several trends will create a new "normal" in the real estate market. There will be an excess supply of distressed and foreclosed homes, with the supply-demand ratio taking several years to balance out in states like Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, and Nevada. More "Big Box" rental property owners will enter the single-family market and transform neighborhoods that once were 90 percent to 100 percent owner-occupied. In light of the shift toward rental conversions, real estate agents increasingly will branch out into property management. The Section 8 program could be expanded, meanwhile, as more people have trouble paying full market rent -- which would enable the "Big Box" owners to boost rental income higher than market levels in order to create positive cash flow. Finally, the government may continue to dominate the secondary mortgage market, unemployment is likely to remain at high levels, and wages are expected to hold at low levels -- all of which could influence home prices, rental rates, and government support of the housing sector.
Urban Invasion
GlobeSt.com (05/01/12) Wolf, Liz
The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) says that the United States is on the brink of a "fundamental change in its housing dynamics," with rental demand increasing in urban core and inner-ring markets and fewer people buying houses in the suburbs. NMHC says that as a result of changing demographics and the housing crash, up to 50 percent of all households created in the next 10 years could be renters (about 7 million), who are drawn to attractive amenities such as nearby stores, restaurants, entertainment, and mass transit that come with city living.
Making Mixed-Income Housing Work
Urban Land (04/12) Vol. 71, No. 4, P. 84 Kirk, Patricia
Mixed-income developments are growing in popularity in a number of cities across the country, as municipalities move away from concentrating poverty in low-income housing projects and as they take steps to make housing more affordable for teachers, police officers, and other public sector employees. Among the cities that have completed mixed-income developments is New York City, which in 2005 began requiring developers of market-rate housing to designate some of their units as affordable or pay into an affordable housing fund. Since 2009, 130,000 affordable housing units have been completed in the city. New York has offered developers a number of incentives to provide affordable units, including selling parcels of land for development for $1. Elsewhere, cities have allowed developers to make their projects more dense in exchange for including affordable units. In California, for example, developers of residential rental projects with more than 10 units that make at least 5 percent of those units affordable to people earning 50 percent of area median income (AMI) or less, or at least 10 percent of units affordable to those who earn 80 percent of AMI, are given a 20 percent density bonus. Local governments also can give developers a maximum 35 percent density bonus for their for-sale projects if they make 10 percent of their units affordable to people whose incomes are at 120 percent of AMI or less. Other incentives that cities in other states have provided to developers include low-interest financing tools, cash subsidies and grants, and reduced or waived fees.
Rental Demand Fuels US Property Market
Financial Times (05/21/12) Bond, Shannon; Raval, Anjli
Despite record-low mortgage rates and a 35 percent drop in house prices since 2006, rental demand is on the rise, with more people renting as a lifestyle choice instead of an economic necessity. "I don't feel that if I rent I'm throwing my money away," says Kate Prockovic, a 33-year-old teacher who rents a two-bedroom unit in the Chicago suburbs. She believes many of her peers also are not interested in the responsibilities that accompany homeownership and do not want to commit to a particular neighborhood. This change in perception, increased job market mobility, and high student debt levels have contributed to a decline in the U.S. apartment vacancy rate, which hit 4.9 percent in the first quarter, marking a nearly 11-year low, according to Reis. Meanwhile, rising rental demand has attracted insurance companies and other large institutional investors to the sector, bolstered apartment financing, and spurred a 48 percent increase in new construction of multifamily buildings of five or more units from January through April -- a period during which single-family groundbreakings rose only 24 percent. A report from the Demand Institute indicates that rental demand will help stabilize the housing market. "New rental demand, particularly from young people and immigrants, will help to drive the overall housing market, as developers build multifamily homes and investors buy single-family properties for rent," says the report, which also shows that over 50 percent of people looking to relocate within two years plan to rent.
Q&A: ITC Investments - Comparing Solar ITCs to Historic ITCs
Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits (05/12) Vol. 3, No. 5, Grappone, Tony
Tony Grappone, CPA, Novogradac & Co., discusses investment tax credits (ITCs) in a Q&A, comparing solar projects to historic rehabilitation building projects. Grappone reviews typical historic tax credit investment structures, noting that a single-entity limited partnership works well when there is an investor limited partner (ILP) that values both tax credits and depreciation, while adding that one of the key objectives of the dual-entity structure, commonly known as a lease pass-through (LPT), is to try to separate the depreciation benefits (generated by the landlord) from the ITC benefits (generated by the tenant). Tax rules require owners of historic tax credit projects to reduce their investment by 100 percent of the amount of the ITC, but require a 50 percent reduction for owners of energy property. Grappone provides an example of a single-entity structure, in which a solar project and a historic project investment would offer $4.5 million of ITCs, and the comparison shows that the solar investment would yield the investor close to $800,000 of additional tax benefits. Internal Revenue Code Section 50(c) does not require owners of property that generate ITCs to reduce their portion of the ITC when the tenant in a LPT claims the ITC, but the disparity must be cured by taking into account the taxable income the basis adjustment avoided by using the structure, which is generally recognized over the depreciable life of the assets that gave rise to the credits (typically five years for solar and 39 years for commercial use historic buildings.) "Under this scenario, although the solar investment basis reduction income is, in total, only half of what it is with historic projects, that income will be allocated to the ILP during the five-year recapture period instead of over 39 years with historic investments," he said in an example of an LPT. "As a result of the additional income recognition for solar project ILPs in the LPT scenario, one would expect to see tenant entities making a greater investment in the landlord in order to obtain sufficient tax depreciation to shelter the additional basis adjustment income."
A Piece of the Action
Apartment Finance Today (06/12) Shaver, Les
Obtaining development equity remains challenging, even though small-scale partnerships are on the rise. In the 2000s, private development was fueled by programmatic equity, for instance JPI's long-term relationship with GE Capital and Hanover Co.'s partnership with MetLife. Today, however, "It's a whole new host of funds, private equity, and high-net-worth family offices that are out funding new development," notes Porter Jones, a vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle. Programmatic equity is increasing somewhat. In March, Harbor Urban secured AREA Property Partners, which will provide equity to develop roughly 1,500 units of sustainable urban-infill projects. The venture with AREA enabled Harbor Properties to merge with Urban Partners, which led to the creation of Harbor Urban. It is uncertain whether larger programmatic ventures will emerge in 2012 or 2013. "We’ve seen little programmatic deals happening, where [they’re] dedicated to three or four developments," says Jones.
California LIHTC Update
Housing Finance (04/24/12)
The number of applications that the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (TCAC) has received in its first round of funding has increased 15 percent from a year ago to 118. TCAC Executive Director Bill Pavao estimated that between 50 and 54 projects are likely to be the recipients of low-income housing tax credits. Pavao also said that there were a total of 175 applications last year, 105 of which received reservations. In addition, roughly $83.6 million in federal credits were awarded, with the average award coming in at $796,000. That was down from an average of $1.07 million in 2010. A total of $86.9 million in state credits were awarded last year. Meanwhile, the average cost per unit dropped nearly 8 percent from 2010 to 2011, reaching $285,008 last year. Federal credits per unit dropped 27.7 percent from 2010 to 2011 to $138,870. The reporting of these statistics comes as officials in California and elsewhere are growing increasingly concerned about the cost of affordable housing projects. TCAC and other state housing agencies are trying to better understand the issue by performing a study to see if development costs have become unreasonable and to see what pushes the costs of various items upward. TCAC also has said that developers whose projects have an eligible basis in excess of 130 percent of adjusted threshold base limits will have to appeal to the committee before their developments can move forward. No applicants reached that threshold in the first round this year, though some were very close to doing so. More than a dozen affordable housing projects would have failed the TCAC's high-cost test if it had been in place last year.
Goals Unmet for Affordable Housing Tax Credit Program in Texas
Houston Chronicle (04/23/12) King, Karisa; Murphy, Ryan
According to an investigation by the San Antonio Express-News-Texas Tribune, Texas has given about $9.7 billion in tax credits to developers to construct or refurbish affordable apartments. However, the investigation found that very few of the units were in white neighborhoods, while the majority were in impoverished minority communities. The goal of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program is to provide mixed-income housing to help residents climb out of poverty. But the investigation found that more than three-quarters of the apartments were directed to poorer neighborhoods, leaving some wondering if the program is pro-segregation. The newspaper's investigation found that only 3 percent of tax credit apartments are located in areas where whites make up at least 60 percent of the population, which stands in stark contrast to 91 percent, which go to neighborhoods where more than half of all residents are Black or Hispanic. The federal program was created in 1986, allowing states to oversee how the funds are spent. The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which administers the program, conducted a review of its data from 1990 to 2011. According to the report, 78 percent of tax-credit units are located in minority communities, where residents typically earned less than the median household income.
Swelling Seniors Population Faces Housing Challenges
Apartment Finance Today (04/12)
A new report from the Center for Housing Policy shows that America's 65-years-old and older population will more than double by 2050 to approximately 88 million -- an increase of 120 percent that far outpaces other age groups. That means one in every five Americans will be older than 65. Researchers further note that the number of Americans who are 85 and older will soon more than triple to 19 million. Consequently, the demand for affordable housing and services for senior citizens will increase dramatically. Such states as Arizona, Florida, and Nevada have the highest projected percentage growth of 65 and older residents between 2000 and 2030. The report -- titled "Housing An Aging Population – Are We Prepared?" -- notes that older adults are more likely than younger households to spend over 50 percent of their income on housing. Additionally, an aging population means that more seniors will be living with disabilities. Demand for renovations and retrofits to accommodate people with disabilities will likely rise as a result, along with demand for housing with supportive services. The report raises concerns that many suburban communities in Florida and elsewhere continue to limit multifamily housing. Considering the population trends, the report concluded, "local officials may find growing interest in allowing larger multifamily developments in communities where currently they are not permitted."
Study Shows Economic Benefits of LIHTC Developments in New Hampshire
Affordable Housing Finance (04/12) Kimura, Donna
Roughly 200 affordable housing units are financed annually in New Hampshire through the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program, according to a study commissioned by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. The study examined the economic impact of building 149 LIHTC family units and 53 LITCH seniors' units statewide. The number of units is based on average yearly tax credit production in New Hampshire. The estimated one-year impacts of constructing 149 new units include the creation of 328 jobs, $22.2 million in income for New Hampshire residents, and $2.8 million in taxes and other revenue for state and local governments. The annual recurring impacts of the 149 family units include 83 jobs, $6.1 million in income for New Hampshire residents, and $1.5 million in taxes and other revenue for state and local governments. Similarly, the estimated one-year impacts of building 53 seniors' units include 105 jobs, $7.1 million in income for New Hampshire residents, and $927,000 in taxes and other revenue for the state and local governments, while the annual recurring impacts of these senior LIHTC apartments include 27 jobs, $2 million in income for New Hampshire residents, and $445,000 in taxes and other revenues for the state and local governments. The results indicate that in addition to providing homes for families and seniors, the LIHTC developments generate substantial economic activity, says Dean Christon, executive director of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority.
EcoMOD Project Expanding Efforts to Build Energy Efficient Affordable Housing
Charlottesville Tomorrow News Center (03/16/12) Beale, Courtney
John Quale, director of the ecoMOD research project and an architecture professor at the University of Virginia, has been working for years to bring down the cost of constructing energy efficient homes. Since 2004, ecoMOD has partnered with affordable housing organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Piedmont Housing Alliance to show that environmental awareness in construction and renovation does not need to be limited to high-end remodels and expensive new developments. Quale says each experience has translated into new insights for both ecoMOD and its partners. EcoMOD is currently working with Southside Outreach and People Incorporated to create affordable multifamily housing in South Boston, Va., and Abingdon, Va., areas where abundant land makes such housing a less natural choice. The units, which are pre-built in an aircraft hangar, will be identical when constructed and will utilize numerous energy efficient technologies. EcoMOD hopes to make its housing units an attractive living choice by designing them to feel like single-family homes. The difference between the real estate climate in Charlottesville, Va., and the South Boston and Abingdon region presents a unique opportunity to study how the demand for ecoMOD townhomes is related to population density. Quale says the innovative style of ecoMOD units continues to evolve. In the future, ecoMOD hopes to increase the efficiency of insulation methods and incorporate more passive solar heating in their designs to reduce the cost of mechanical systems.
Abstract News © Copyright 2012 INFORMATION, INC.
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