December 20, 2018
As Affordable Housing Demand Grows, Developers Struggle to Keep Up
REBusiness Online
A shortage of more than 7.2 million affordable housing units exists nationwide for households with incomes at or below the poverty level, defined as 30 percent of area median income, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. But finding affordable housing is not just an issue for impoverished people. Typically, renters who earn up to 60 percent of area median income are also eligible to live in affordable housing properties.
December 20, 2018
The Affordable Housing Conundrum
REBusiness Online
Demand for the product is growing, but developers are struggling to make the numbers pencil out.
A shortage of more than 7.2 million affordable housing units exists nationwide for households with incomes at or below the poverty level, defined as 30 percent of area median income, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. But finding affordable housing is not just an issue for impoverished people. Typically, renters who earn up to 60 percent of area median income are also eligible to live in affordable housing properties.
December 13, 2018
Big-money investors are piling into ‘opportunity zone’ funds in lower-income neighborhoods, but there are a bunch of reasons to be cautious
Business Insider
“Opportunity zone” investments are this season’s must-have product for investment firms of all stripes.
The funds, which target economically depressed areas that could benefit from new tax breaks, are the investment du jour for everyone from Goldman Sachs to Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital. Even Amazon is set to benefit — its planned outpost in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York, is in an opportunity zone.
December 9, 2018
This apartment owner makes money by providing affordable homes
LA Times
Daryl Carter is founder and chief executive of Avanath Capital Management, an Irvine investment firm that owns nearly 9,000 apartments nationwide — both market-rate and affordable. About 75% of its units have some form of rent restriction, and 40% of residents receive rent subsidies under the federal Section 8 program.
December 4, 2018
2018 Hudson Valley apartment market: Counties show favorable conditions for investment – by Brian Heine
New York Real Estate Journal
All the counties of the Hudson Valley show a favorable rental market for investment. The average 2017 HUD fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Hudson Valley, together the counties of Dutchess, Westchester, Rockland, Ulster, Putnam, and Orange, is $1,510 per month, up 4.4% from 2016. The 2017 Ulster County Rental Housing survey reports average two-bedroom rents of $1,143, up 5.9% over 2016, with an overall vacancy rate of 2.65% versus 2.36% for 2016. The 2016 Dutchess County Rental Housing Survey reported a 2.0% vacancy rate for market rate apartment complexes, up from 1.8% in 2015, but near a 20 year low, and average two bedroom monthly apartment rents of $1,429, up from $1,379 in 2015. These two surveys are representative of the rental conditions in the counties north of Westchester and Rockland and even with the year to year fluctuations these results are indicative of a very tight rental market for tenants that overwhelmingly favors property owners. Avalon Bay’s suburban class A New York portfolio, mostly in Westchester County, increased the average rental rate 1.8% to $3,041 in 2017 over 2016, and the full year 2017 economic occupancy rate 0.2% to 95.7%.
December 1, 2018
Making an impact: Investors in affordable and workforce housing do well by doing good
Institutional Real Estate Americas
Investors’ reasons for investing in affordable housing are as varied as the opportunities available. But, broadly, it comes down to two factors: The returns are good, and it’s the right thing to do.
