Articles Archives

Tax Credit Advisor, November 2010: Investment tax credits -low-income housing, new markets, historic – are a different kind of money with three beneficial features that no appropriated government program can duplicate: risk transfer, collectible recapture, and outcome-based compliance. Mix them together with market dynamics, in a financial ecosystem that supports equity syndication, and the result is market synergy for public benefit.

By A. J. Johnson

Tax Credit Advisor, November 2010: Owners and developers need to be careful when it comes to the presence of commercial activities in low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects.

Tax Credit Advisor ““ November 2010 ““ The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297, P.L. 111-240) signed into law by President Obama on September 27 provides some minor benefits regarding tax credits and real estate.

Tax Credit Advisor ““ November 2010 ““ The apartment market is gradually improving and headed for a major uptick a few years out, once employment and new household formation levels are robust again, according to officials at Marcus & Millichap, the national real estate brokerage firm.

Tax Credit Advisor ““ October 2010 ““ The recession technically ended more than 11 months ago, but the recovery has been slow and uneven across regions and metropolitan areas. Through August, the U.S. economy has regained only 720,000 of the 8.4 million jobs lost during the recession. Many markets have seen no or minimal job growth.

Tax Credit Advisor ““ October 2010 ““ In Bolingbrook, Ill., a suburban village of nearly 72,000 southwest of Chicago, novice developer Jim Kiley is resuscitating a failed housing project as affordable housing, in a collaborative effort funded by federal low-income housing tax credits, Neighborhood Stabilization Program dollars, and other resources. McKenzie Falls, a 16-building development containing 105 affordable apartments for seniors, one manager’s apartment, and a clubhouse, will be completed in 2011, more than five years after the earlier project ground to a halt.

Tax Credit Advisor, October 2010: In addition to commercial real estate projects and manufacturing plants, the federal new markets tax credit has financed a wide variety of housing in diverse markets.

Tax Credit Advisor, October 2010: Much of the buzz in the low-income housing tax credit world this year has been about the increase in equity investment by insurance companies. This flow includes existing insurance company investors, insurance companies that dropped out of the market and have returned, and some that are brand new to housing credit investment.

Tax Credit Advisor, October 2010: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is soliciting electronic applications under two separate programs for up to $189 million in competitive grants.

Tax Credit Advisor, October 2010: The historic tax credit (HTC) equity market may be showing some improvement but remains challenged, according to industry sources. “What we’re seeing are the very earliest signs of an improvement in the market,” says Eric Darling, of Boston-based Carlisle Tax Credit Advisors, which advises corporate investors and finds proprietary federal historic tax credit investments for major investor Chevron.

Tax Credit Advisor, October 2010: A subsidiary of U.S. Bank has arranged and will manage a proprietary $86 million low-income housing tax credit fund for search engine giant Google.

Tax Credit Advisor, October 2010: The low-income housing tax credit equity market continues to see increased activity by corporate investors, including a renewed popularity of multi-investor funds. This heftier flow of equity dollars – from more players – has increased competition for deals, boosted credit pricing to developers, and decreased yields to investors.