Articles Archives

The Critical Verdict: Market Studies Form the Essential Underpinning for Successful LIHTC Projects

13 min read

Market studies for proposed low-income housing tax credit projects have become more sophisticated and refined in recent years – and more necessary with the ever-growing LIHTC inventory.

The Top Developments: Tax Credit Coalition Announces 2014 Excellence Awards

2 min read

The Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition recently announced winners of the 20th Annual Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Awards. The awards recognize outstanding affordable rental housing developments across the nation funded with federal low-income housing tax credits.

Demand doesn’t create units; units create demand

5 min read

In nearly four decades in this business, I have never believed in the logic structure underlying traditional market studies, because they have their causality backwards. And (confession time) I have never used one to make a decision, because a much better means of testing the market is readily available.

Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Multi-Investor Fund Activity

5 min read

Boston Capital finished closing a $193 million national multi-investor fund in late March that has a projected after-tax IRR to investors of 7.25%, said Jeff Goldstein. The company is on the street with a new $150 million national fund (7% IRR) that was 50% specified in properties as of early April.

How to price a LIHTC deal

5 min read

Do you want to be an affordable housing investment banker, a titan of structured finance making a market in low-income housing tax credits? You are ready to spend hours upon end laboriously gathering minute financial information on a proposed property; analyzing its risks in painstaking detail; performing two-dimensional scenario sensitivity analysis; and then surfacing and innovatively managing transaction, operational, and counterparty risks.

Hartford’s Downtown Revival: Iconic Office Tower Being Converted to Housing and Retail Using Historic Credits

3 min read

In Hartford, Conn., nicknamed the insurance capital of the world, work has begun on redeveloping a vacant, iconic 26-story office tower in the city’s central business district into housing, retail outlets, and parking.

Historic Tax Credit Market Still Lagging

3 min read

The amount of investor equity for new stand-alone historic rehabilitation tax credit deals still hasn’t rebounded to the level of a few years ago before the Historic Boardwalk Hall decision. Industry officials reported that investors, developers, and tax attorneys are still trying to reach agreement on certain structuring aspects for new deals to be comfortable they will fall under the safe harbor outlined in recent IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-12.

On the Cusp of Further Growth: LIHTC Industry Hopeful for Boost in Equity Volume from Accounting Change

9 min read

Syndicators are getting positive feedback as they talk to companies to try to get them to start investing in low-income housing tax credits, while nervously trying to keep the after-tax yield on new national multi-investor funds at or above 7%, a tough challenge given persistently strong credit pricing to developers.

Creating Access to Healthy Foods: Bronx Project Will Serve Distressed Neighborhood

3 min read

The federal new markets tax credit is helping to finance a project in the South Bronx in New York City that will transform an underutilized municipal parking lot into an 88,000 square-foot mixed-use commercial and community facility.

PTEE Road Show Kickoff is an Eye-Opener for Attendees

6 min read

More than 120 enthusiastic energy- and cost- concerned representatives from a variety of affordable housing companies and organizations filled a conference room in a building adjacent to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station on April 3 for a frank and incisive, daylong look at the true financial benefits that can be reaped from best practices in energy and water efficiency.

Savoring the Roses

3 min read

Sometimes we forget just how good we have it. Every now and then, we need to stop and smell the roses as the saying goes.

Getting Below the Surface

3 min read

In many ways the low-income housing tax credit market is a bit of an enigma – both transparent and opaque.

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